Details
Frederic Mizen (1888-1964)
Wyatt Earp
signed 'Frederic Mizen' (lower right)
oil on canvas
36 x 30 in. (91.4 x 76.2 cm.)
Provenance
Frederic Mizen Estate, Poway, California, circa 1964.
Private collection.
Brian Lebel’s Old West Auctions, Denver, Colorado, 23 January 2012, lot 269.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Brought to you by

Elizabeth Beaman
Elizabeth Beaman

Lot Essay

Perhaps the most notorious lawman in the history of the American West, Wyatt Earp first moved from his family's home in Indiana to Kansas, where he eventually became a police office in Wichita before becoming deputy town marshal of Dodge City. In 1879 Earp left Kansas for Tombstone, Arizona, to join his brothers in their pursuit of wealth. On October 26th, 1881, the Earp brothers, including Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt, together with their friend Doc Holliday, famously faced off against a group of cowboys in the O.K. Corral. Wyatt was the only one of the Earp brothers to escape the fight unscathed, while three of the four cowboys lost their lives. In the ensuing years, Virgil Earp was shot and wounded, while Morgan Earp was killed in retaliation for the death of the cowboys. In turn, Wyatt Earp set about to avenge his brothers and killed several suspects, before eventually leaving Tombstone. The present work depicts Earp after he had settled permanently in California and began work on his personal memoirs.

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