Some might not recognize the name “Curt Gowdy.” Many of the “baby boomers” and older grew up watching and listening to this man. Denny remembers vividly, the man’s elegant voice as he announced the Super Bowls that his beloved Steelers had won. Curt even announced the game where Franco Harris caught the “Immaculate Reception.” Denny used to watch Mr. Gowdy do his famous “American Sportsman” show. It was a weekly show that he would hunt and fish with some of the most famous sports figures and celebrities of all time. Curt was a “sportsman’s sportsman.” He was well known among his peers as the “Cowboy Behind the Mic.” Curt was born and raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming.This is a commissioned piece that Denny was asked to do in 2004. After Curt passed away in February 2006, things moved ahead with more commitment. Cheryl, Curt’s daughter, and Denny had discussed the portrait of her “Daddy.” The first discussion, it was going to be a graphite in his tight style, but with his evolution into oils, they agreed that Denny would “paint the Man.” Paint the “Man” in his true elements, that is what he did. The photographic reference that was provided to Denny by the Gowdy’s photographer showed Curt sitting along a trout stream in Wyoming wearing his favorite Stetson, turquoise bolo tie, antelope pin, and his prized fly rod and reel. The Gowdys request that he title this piece “The Cowboy on the River.”
Original has been sold. Prints not available.
