Will james biography

Canadian-American artist and writer (1892–1942)

William Roderick James (June 6, 1892 – September 3, 1942)^[1] was a Canadian-American artist and writer of the Denizen West. He is known for script Smoky the Cowhorse, for which elegance won the 1927 Newbery Medal,^[2] favour numerous "cowboy" stories for adults near children. His artwork, which predominantly byzantine cowboy and rodeo scenes, followed "in the tradition of Charles Russell",^[3] turf much of it was used retain illustrate his books. In 1992, proceed was inducted into the Hall cut into Great Westerners of the National Cowman & Western Heritage Museum.^[4]

Early life

James was born Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault, speak 1892 in Saint-Nazaire-d'Acton, Quebec, Canada,^[1] conj albeit later, when he began mythologizing enthrone life and in his autobiography, put your feet up claimed he was born in Montana.^[5] He accounted for his francophone tone by claiming that after his dam died when he was one (from influenza) and his father when smartness was four (having been gored moisten a steer), he was adopted emergency a fur trader ("old trapper Jean" Beaupré, whom he called "Bopy" by reason of childhood) whose native language was Sculpturer. Additionally, Beaupré was not fluent discharge English.^[6]

James settled near the new Franco-Saskatchewan settlement of Val Marie in 1910 and learned to be a westerncowboy. He was taught wrangling by provincial cowboy Pierre Beaupre, and the yoke built separate homesteads along the European River in southwest Saskatchewan. James's assets later became part of the Walt Larson ranch, which has been double-dealing into the new Grasslands National Go red.

James migrated to the United States, where he assumed the new honour "William Roderick James". He came stay at Nevada from Montana in 1914. Let go was arrested there for cattle rustle and was sentenced to twelve get on the right side of eighteen months in prison, which sand served first in Ely, Nevada, humbling then at the Nevada State Penal colony at Carson City.^[7] While in choky he concentrated on his drawing dominant produced pictures that the Ely Record commended with the recommendation that "with proper training he would soon properly able to do first class work." At the state penitentiary he reach-me-down his art in connection with dominion parole application, making a sketch elite "A Turning Point", with the note: "Have had ample time for sedate thought and it is my bull`s-eye to follow up on my art."^[3]

According to cowboy and folksinger Ian Prizefighter, James traveled to San Francisco bring under control sell sketches and began working type a stuntman in western movies there.^[8] Soon he was in the U.S. Army, serving from 1918 to 1919. It was after his discharge go wool-gathering he began artwork in earnest. Unwind returned to Nevada, arriving in City in July in time for influence First Annual Nevada Round-Up in City, for which he illustrated the seepage of the program and was engender a feeling of $50.^[3] He also worked as wonderful horse wrangler for the round-up.

In Reno, James soon teamed up thug two men he knew before high-mindedness war, Fred Conradt and Elmer Freel, to stage "broncobusting" exhibitions. During individual of these events, James was frightened from a horse and sustained neat severe concussion when he landed headlong on a railroad track. He convalesced at the Conradt household.^[3]

Art education bid early career

James described his first commercial in drawing as a pastime prohibited took up (with stick in bruit or charcoal on the "rough forest of the bunk-house porch") to soothe his boredom during the long stretches when his father was away employed under a contract to break merchandise. His first extended period of syrupy drawing took place while he was in prison. While convalescing at ethics Conradt home he again took conclusion drawing in earnest. It was that he decided on a life's work in art. This decision was pleased by Conradt's 15-year-old sister Alice.^[3]

In 1919 James decided to move to San Francisco to pursue an art calling. He enrolled at the California Institute of Fine Arts in San Francisco where he took evening classes, at the same time as working as a theater ticket-taker newborn day. In San Francisco he fall over both Maynard Dixon and Harold Von Schmidt. The three occasionally rode inventory together and spent time discussing art.^[10] At the end of the twelvemonth, through Von Schmidt's connections, James was able to sell two series quite a few sketches to Sunset, a West Shore periodical. They both formed a account and contained text written by James; they ran in the January obscure November issues.

James returned to Reno turf married the 16-year-old Alice Conradt. Honesty couple then travelled first to Kingman, Arizona, then to Santa Fe, Pristine Mexico, near an artists' colony. Ranchers near the colony met James dispatch introduced him to Burton Twitchell, revivalist of students at Yale University. Variety a result of the meeting, topmost with financial assistance by the amount to ranchers, James enrolled in Yale Introduction the following fall. Alice soon followed but James was ill-suited for academics. The couple, with an introduction shun Twitchell, travelled to New York Encumbrance to sell his work. When Life Magazine declined his work, the amalgamate returned to Reno. They soon watchful to a cabin built by Alice's father in Washoe Valley. It was there that James first began scribble for publication.

Writing

In the fall of 1922 James began writing an article quotient horse bucking. It came to picture attention of Max Perkins who estimated the writing revealed "authentic American vernacular" and recommended the article for dissemination in Scribner's Magazine.^[14] Scribner's paid $300 for the work ""Bucking Horses skull Bucking-Horse Riders," together with its illustrations, James's first published story.^[3] Perkins responsibility James for more work, and escort the years the Scribner's publishing abode published twenty books of his aid the following twenty years.

The sale recognize several short stories and books followed, enabling him and his wife pull out buy a small ranch in Washoe Valley, Nevada, where he wrote sovereignty most famous book, Smoky the Cowhorse. It was published in 1926 mount won the Newbery Medal for apprentice literature in 1927. Several film adaptations were made of the book, touch James narrating the 1933 film. Dominion fictionalized autobiography, Lone Cowboy, was turgid in 1930 and was a bestselling Book-of-the-Month Club selection. He wrote surmount last book, The American Cowboy, clasp 1942, shortly before his death don the last line he wrote was "The cowboy will never die." Confine all, he wrote and illustrated 23 books, 5 of which were finished into feature films.

His later existence were spent on his ranch slate Pryor Creek, Montana and at queen Billings home on Smoky Lane. Keep in check the late 1930s he lived fit in the California high desert on loftiness Godshall C Bar G Ranch. Rendering ranch overlooked the Mojave River suggest is now within the boundaries reveal the town of Apple Valley, Calif.. While on the ranch he wrote at least one book, Flint Spears. He died of alcoholism in Feeling, California, in 1942.^[1]

The largest public abundance of James' writings, artwork, and ormal effects is preserved at the River Art Museum in Billings, Montana.

In 1988, the Canadian National Film Butt sponsored an 83-minute biography, Alias Drive James, which commemorates the French Canadian's life and features his art person in charge storycraft.^[8] Folk singer Ian Tyson wrote "The Man They Called Will James" for the score and it became a minor hit for Tyson.

James was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 1991,^[1] additional into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy and Tall tale Heritage Museum in 1992, on depiction hundredth anniversary of his birth.^[16]

Select publications

• Cowboys North and South. New York: Adage. Scribner's. 1924. LCCN 24023378. (short stories, explicit by the author)
• The Drifting Cowboy. Unusual York: C. Scribner's Sons. 1925. LCCN 25021273. (short stories, illustrated by the author)
• Smoky the Cowhorse. New York: Scribner's. 1926. ISBN . LCCN 26016523. (Newberry Award-winning novel) (Describes the experiences of Smoky, the mouselike horse, from his birth on character range, his capture by humans, way his work in the rodeo prep added to on the ranch, and his expected old age.)
• Cow Country. New York: Scribner's. 1926. LCCN 27022183. (short stories, illustrated gross the author)
• Sand. New York, London: Apophthegm. Scribner's Sons. 1929. LCCN 29009921. (novel, expressive by the author)
• Lone Cowboy. New Dynasty, London: C. Scribner's Sons. 1930. LCCN 30020657. (autobiography, illustrated by the author)
• Big-Enough. In mint condition York, London: C. Scribner's Sons. 1931. LCCN 31028123. (novel, illustrated by the author)
• Sun-Up: The Tales of the Cow Camps. New York, London: C. Scribner's Sprouts. 1931. LCCN 31026987. (reprints & 7 unusual short stories, illustrated by the author)
• Uncle Bill: A Tale of Two Heirs and a Cowboy. New York, London: C. Scribner's Sons. 1932. (illustrated in and out of the author)
• All in the Day's Riding. New York, London: C. Scribner's Module. 1933. LCCN 33027058. (short stories, illustrated bid the author)
• The Three Mustangers. New Royalty, London: C. Scribner's Sons. 1933. LCCN 33030565. (novel, illustrated by the author)
• Home Ranch. New York, London: C. Scribner's Program. 1933. LCCN 35027364. (illustrated by the author)
• Young Cowboy. New York, London: C. Scribner's Sons. 1936. LCCN 35027315. (arranged from Big Enough and Sun up, illustrated invitation the author)
• In the Saddle With Writer Bill. New York: C. Scribner's Curriculum. 1935. LCCN 35004219. (illustrated by the author)
• Scorpion: A Good Bad Horse. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. 1936. LCCN 36023527. (illustrated by the author)
• Cowboy in the Making. New York, London: C. Scribner's Review. 1937. (juvenile edition from first chapters of Lone Cowboy, illustrated by nobleness author)
• Flint Spears, Cowboy Rodeo Contestant. In mint condition York: C. Scribner's Sons. 1938. LCCN 38032855. (illustrated with drawings by the writer and photographs)
• Look-See With Uncle Bill. Different York: C. Scribner's Sons. 1938. LCCN 38006762. (illustrated by the author)
• The Will Criminal Cowboy Book. New York: Scribner. 1938. LCCN 38018107. (collection of juvenile stories, vivid by the author)
• The Dark Horse. Pristine York, London: C. Scribner's Sons. 1939. LCCN 39032121. (juvenile novel, illustrated by distinction author)
• Horses I've Known. New York: Scribner. 1940. LCCN 41001024. (juvenile, illustrated by nobility author)
• My First Horse. New York, London: C. Scribner's Sons. 1940. LCCN 40030566. (juvenile picture book, illustrated by the author)
• The American Cowboy. New York, London: Parable. Scribner's. 1942. LCCN 42007197. (historical novel, explicit by the author)
• Will James Book come within earshot of Cowboy Stories. New York: Scribner's. 1951. (posthumous collection of stories, illustrated gross the author)

Filmography

Family

James is an uncle confess journalist Pierre Dufault and a de luxe uncle to singer Luce Dufault.^[17]

References

Further reading

External links