Ongoing

Edward Borein

The Artist

Edward Borein was one of a handful of early Western artists who was actually born in the West. As a young man he roamed the western states and territories and much of Mexico, working as a cowboy and using his artistic talent to record these experiences. Developing a deep affection for the West, and nurtured by his free lifestyle as a cowboy, he soon became known as a facile and spontaneous recorder of cowboy and Indian life.

In his early thirties Borein decided to pursue a career as a professional artist and moved to New York City, where his studio soon became a favorite haunt for important figures such as Will Rogers, Charles M. Russell, Carl Oscar Borg and Buffalo Bill Cody.

Borein returned to his native California, married, and set up a permanent studio in Santa Barbara in 1921. His etchings, watercolors, and drawings quickly earned him a reputation as one of the foremost interpreters of the American West, and few artists have done so as accurately and skillfully as Borein.

Borein-portrait-
Edward Borein

The Legacy
After Edward Borein’s death in 1945, a number of prominent Santa Barbara citizens produced a limited edition publication, Etchings of the West, to memorialize this valued member of the community and important Western artist. These same citizens also convinced Ed’s widow, Lucile, that Ed had earned a place in history that needed to be preserved. Selecting the Santa Barbara Historical Society (now the Santa Barbara Historical Museum) to be the repository of her husband’s legacy, she donated numerous works of art and personal objects, including Borein’s own collection of the best impressions of his etchings.

Since then, the Museum has been very active in adding important Borein material to its collection, following in the footsteps of the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana.

And now, with the opening of the new Edward Borein Gallery, the Museum has created an appropriate memorial to an artist whose accurate depictions of cowboys and ranching, vaqueros and stagecoaches, Plains and Pueblo Indians, and the California missions made an invaluable contribution to our understanding and appreciation of early Western culture.

Marlene R. Miller
Curator, Edward Borein Collection 

Edward Borein, Etched by the West

The life and art of famed Western artist Edward Borein (1872-1945) is the subject of our new book by B. Byron Price, one of the foremost scholars of the art of the American West.  The 336-page work, the first scholarly treatment of the artist, includes more than 400 images, many never published.  The book describes Borein’s path from itinerant vaquero to successful illustrator to revered recorder and interpreter of the vanishing West.

Price, who recently retired as Director of the University of Oklahoma’s Charles M. Russell Center for the Study of Art of the American West, has woven hundreds of little-known details of the artist’s experiences in his native California as well as in Mexico and New York into a fascinating history, and an appreciation of his abilities in several mediums, especially as an etcher.

The book is available for sale in our store or online
HERE.

Visit

We invite you to explore our Edward Borein Gallery open during Museum hours and with tours by request.  Below find a sampling of our incomparable collection of Edward Borein's work.

Two Horsemen Surveying a Canyon John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Watercolor and gouache on paper 6 x 4 inches Gift of Lucille (Mrs. Edward) Borein 1978.65.57
Portrait of Borein, Santa Barbara Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935) Etching Gift of Amy and Steve Macfarlane
Six Sketches of Bucking Horses John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Pen, ink, and graphite on paper Gift of Carolyn and Leo Acquistapace
Outrider on Palomino John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Watercolor and gouache on paper Promised gift of Marlene and Warren Miller
"After an evening of reading, the floor would be littered with hundreds of sketches, and Ed would tell me to 'throw them in the fire,' but I refused. He claimed they were done just to keep his fingers 'in practice.' Each night I would collect them, and ended up with three big baskets filled with wonderful animals and horsemen." - Lucille Borein The collection of sketches on display here were most likely salvaged after such a night. They were gifted to Leo Acquistapace as a young boy by Mrs. Lucille Borein after a visit in 1954. Four Sketches of Cowboys John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Pen, ink, and graphite on paper Gift of Carolyn and Leo Acquistapace
Saddle Bunch John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Watercolor on paper Museum Acquisition Fund Through the generosity of Astrid and Lawrence Hammett
Trail Herd John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Watercolor on paper Promised gift of George Burtness
Emigrant Train John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint Gift of the Frederick Van Nydeck Schenck, Jr. Estate
Cutting Out a Bull, No. 2 John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint Museum Acquisition Fund Through the generosity of Astrid and Lawrence Hammett
Five Cowboys in Desert John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching Gift of Marlene and Warren Miller
"My great interest in the work of Edward Borein stems from childhood visits to his studio. It was a wonderful experience to listen to his stories about bygone days while watching him sketch a cowboy roping a steer. This is probably one of the finest watercolors ever painted by Borein because of the quality of the draftsmanship, plus the beautiful action of the principal figures. It is my favorite." - Katherine Haley, 1988 "Since my mother's death in December 1999, the California Vaquero has been hanging in the living room at the ranch. I believe it is time that the painting has the chance to be in the public again, to carry on the legacy that my mother started over a half century ago. I hope you will all love it as much as we have." - Roger Haley, 2011 Once the centerpiece of Katherine Haley's magnificent Borein collection, this watercolor is the most recent addition to our museum, and is considered to be one of Edward Borein's finest works. California Vaquero John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Watercolor on paper Museum Acquisition Fund Through the generosity of the Friends of Edward Borein
The Mysterious South-west, 1917 John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching Gift of Marlene and Warren Miller
Conquistadores Entering California, 2nd state John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching Museum Acquisition Fund Through the generosity of Astrid and Lawrence Hammett
Mission Santa Barbara, No. 3 John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint Museum Acquisition Fund Through the generosity of Astrid and Lawrence Hammett
Going to the Wagon, No. 1 John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint Gift of the William D. McBride Estate
John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Oil on canvas Museum Acquisition Fund Through the generosity of Astrid and Lawrence Hammett
Blackfoot Men, Western Canada, 1932 John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Watercolor on paper Promised gift of William S. Burtness
Blackfoot Women, Western Canada, 1932 John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Watercolor on paper Promised gift of Lynn and Robert Burtness
Trail Boss John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint 7 x 8 inches Gift of Harold A. Parma Estate 1998.42.18
Three Cowboys on Horse at Rest John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Pen and ink on paper 8 x 10 inches Gift of Lucille (Mrs. Edward) Borein x.3.78.65.47 ce
Tending the Herd John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Watercolor on paper 9 x 14 inches Gift of Harold A. Parma Estate 1998.30.1
Sitting Pretty, No. 1 John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint 6 x 4 inches Gift of Lucille (Mrs. Edward) Borein 1978.54
Los Caballeros John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Watercolor on paper 7 x 9 inches Gift of Lucille (Mrs. Edward) Borein 1965.78.59
Los Charros John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint 8 x 14 inches Gift of William H. Bluhm 1967.178.10
Mission Carmel John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint 8 x 12 inches Gift of William H. Bluhm 1967.178.5
Mission Santa Barbara in Spanish Times [Sketch for the etching Mission Santa Barbara No. 1] John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Pen and ink on paper 16 x 22 inches Gift of Lucille (Mrs. Edward) Borein 1978.65.69R
Little Bucking Horse John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint 4 x 3 inches Gift of Don Kilbourne Estate 1978.61.14
Indian Chiefs John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching, drypoint, and aquatint 9 x 11 inches Museum Acquisition Fund Through the generosity of Astrid and Lawrence Hammett 2010.45.5
Her Calf John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint 4 x 9 inches Gift of Lucille (Mrs. Edward) Borein 1978.65.13
Grass Hunters, No. 1 John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint 7 x 9 inches Gift of Mrs. Kennedy Hamill In memory of her husband 1965.191.14
End of the Race John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint 7 x 11 inches Gift of Frances (Mrs. Harold) Sheets 1965.89.2
La Cantina de Las Palomas, No. 2 John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint 9 x 11 inches Gift of Mrs. Kennedy Hamill In memory of her husband 1965.191.24
John Edward Borein "Vaquero Show"
La Cantina de Las Palomas, No. 2 John Edward Borein (American, 1872-1945) Etching and drypoint 9 x 11 inches Gift of Mrs. Kennedy Hamill In memory of her husband 1965.191.24