Wouldn't it be great to play
cowboys and Indians throughout your life? Throw in a few mountain men
and cavalrymen and you have perfection,…except that instead of
make-believe horses and guns, Jerry Crandall has the real
thing.
A stickler for authenticity, Jerry's reputation landed him on the set of the TV series Centennial on which he worked training actors, correcting historical scenes, hiring extras, and even appearing a few times with his wife.
Crandall's love of the West came from his childhood in La Junta, Colorado, near historic Bent's Fort on the Santa Fe Trail. He began drawing and painting as a child. A rodeo scene he painted in high school was sent to Europe on a cultural exchange. He attended art school in California and worked as a commercial artist for McDonnell-Douglas aircraft.
When his work began to sell, Judy, his wife, encouraged him to tackle art full time. He was an immediate success. He attributes "nostalgia" as a reason Western art is so popular. Crandall's work hands in museums and is very popular among private collectors. A big, burly mountain man looking over his shoulder is named "Pursued" and displayed at the Favell Museum with several other originals. The Gift Shop has a limited number of prints available for sale.