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Will Rogers, 1879-1935
Will Rogers was the child of Cherokee parents. His father was prominent in Oklahoma politics, and Rogers lived the life of a cowboy before discovering his gifts as a humorist, actor, and commentator on social mores and politics. Rogers's biographer has noted that of all the myths surrounding the humorist's phenomenal success, none conflicted with reality more than the myth of his ignorance. Rogers used his wit and intellect to entertain and to cultivate the persona of a naïve cowboy who commented on and often "roasted" pretentious, self-styled sophisticates. When he was at the peak of his fame as a radio and movie star and newspaper columnist, Rogers was killed in a plane crash on August 15, 1935.
Few portraitists captured Rogers from life. One of those was Charles Banks Wilson, who at age fifteen sketched Rogers backstage after a performance in Miami, Oklahoma. He created this painting from those sketches.
Charles Banks Wilson, 1933-36 |