Philip Russell Goodwin

He is also the artist who designed the Horse & Rider Trademark of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Goodwin was a very private person and did not seek publicity, so not much was known about his private life during his lifetime. Most of what is known comes from letters held at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

Philip Russell Goodwin studied at Art Students League of New York. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is painting. Howard Pyle is recorded as an influence. Works named in the authority record are The Call of the Wild. Work by Philip Russell Goodwin is recorded in the collections of Gilcrease Museum, Brandywine Museum of Art and Minneapolis Institute of Art.

• Name — Philip R. Goodwin • Birth Name — Philip Russell Goodwin • Born — 16 September 1881 • Birthplace — Norwich, Connecticut, United States • Died — 14 December 1935 • Place of death — Mamaroneck, New York, United States • Known for — Painting, Illustration • Training — Rhode Island School of Design, the Art Students League in New York City, and the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry, Howard Pyle at the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art • Movement — Impressionism, Wildlife, Brandywine School • Notable Works — The Call of the Wild, "African Game Trails", the Horse & Rider Trademark of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, American Museum of Natural History, the Brandywine River Museum, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the Charles M. Russell Museum, the Glenbow Museum, the Cowboy Hall of Fame, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Gilcrease Museum and many other collections

Goodwin was born in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1881. At age 11, he sold his first illustrated story to Collier's Magazine. Goodwin studied art at the Rhode Island School of Design, the Art Students League in New York City, and the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now Drexel University) in Philadelphia under the well known Howard Pyle. He later followed Pyle when he opened his own Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. N.C. Wyeth, Thornton Oakley and Frank Schoonover were contemporaries of Goodwin who also studied under Pyle at that time.

• Illustration — Artwork by Goodwin, published in Outing Goodwin illustrated Jack London's The Call of the Wild in 1903 at the age of 22. He later illustrated Theodore Roosevelt's African Game Trails. Goodwin opened a studio in 1904 in New York City, and became well known for his illustrations in numerous magazines and commercial items, such as posters, calendars, and catalogs. Some of the magazines in which his work appeared include: Collier's Weekly, Outdoor Life, Outers' Recreation, Scribner's Magazine, The Popular Magazine, and McClure's Magazine. He also did several covers for The Saturday Evening Post.

Goodwin became good friends with Charles Russell, staying with him at Russell's Lazy KY Ranch and his Bull Head Lodge, and also traveling with him on painting, hunting and fishing expeditions. On these expeditions, Russell and Goodwin influenced each other's painting techniques. Goodwin was also friends with Carl Rungius, an avid outdoorsman who taught Goodwin the finer points of hunting and surviving in the wilderness. Goodwin also met and became friends with Theodore Roosevelt, Will Rogers, and Ernest Seton Thompson. Goodwin's calendars were published by Brown and Bigelow, the nation’s largest calendar publisher and he received substantial commissions for illustrating advertisements for the Horton Manufacturing Company (Maker of Steel fishing rods), Winchester Repeating Arms Company and Marlin Firearms Company

Goodwin ran into bad luck during the Great Depression when his savings bank failed. His work was primarily commission-based and his primary activities during that time were gun ads and calendar art, which were barely sufficient to maintain his studio.

Goodwin's style is epitomized by The Surprise, currently in the collection of the National Museum of Wildlife Art. The museum describes the painting: a photographer is coming upon a mother bear and her two cubs. The painting exemplifies Goodwin's open color palette, use of distance and atmosphere, and sense of humor. He painted many wildlife, hunting, fishing, and western scenes, often composed from behind the subject's shoulder.

Goodwin is well represented in many private collections and museums featuring western and outdoor themes, including the American Museum of Natural History; the Brandywine River Museum; the Buffalo Bill Historical Center; the Charles M. Russell Museum; the Glenbow Museum; the Cowboy Hall of Fame; the National Museum of Wildlife Art; and the Gilcrease Museum.