Fred Oldfield

Art Brokerage: Fred Oldfield American Artist: b. 1918-2017. Fred was born in Alfalfa, Washington in 1918 and grew up on the Yakima Indian Reservation near Toppenish. He never knew a permanent home during his early years and held many jobs as he was growing up. Most often, he worked as a cowhand. He remembers nights on the prairie so cold that he would literally set tumbleweeds on fire, to lie down in the warm spot they made as they burned. "You could sleep for about two hours before the cold woke you up" he'd recall. His collectors are drawn to these stories and early experiences that he tells with his brush and canvas When the war started, he headed back to the States to join the Army, painting patriotic scenes on leather jackets worn by fellow travelers on the boat. It was while he was in the Army that he really got excited about painting and began to think he might make a living as an artist. After the war, he attended art school in Seattle under the G.I. Bill and began painting murals on walls in Alaska, Canada and throughout the Northwest. He is acknowledged as one of the premier painters of the American West. He had one-man shows in museums and galleries and shown in castles. For thirty years he acted as host and centerpiece for the Celebration of Western Art Show ~ largest western art show in the Northwest. As an integral part of the Toppenish Mural Society, Fred has painted three murals and participated in the painting of numerous others to benefit his hometown. Listings wanted.