George Phippen (July 11, 1915 – April 13, 1966) was an American sculptor and painter from Arizona. He was the co-founder and first president of the Cowboy Artists of America. He is the namesake of the Phippen Museum in Prescott, Arizona.
Phippen was born in 1915 in Charles City, Iowa. [1] [2] He grew up as a cowboy in Kansas, [2] and he received no formal art education. [1] When he was serving in World War II, he taught himself to paint. After the war, he briefly worked with artist Henry Balink in Santa Fe, New Mexico. [1]
Over the course of twenty years, Phippen did approximately 3,000 works in his brief career. [3] He was a sculptor and painter in representational style of western genre, figures, horses and cattle. [2] [3] His work included the bronze sculpture Cowboy in a Storm.
Phippen was a member of the Mountain Artists Guild. [2] He was also a co-founder of the Cowboy Artists of America, and he served as its first president. [1] [4]
Phippen married Louise Goble. [2] They had five children, [2] and they resided in Skull Valley near Prescott, Arizona. [5]
Phippen died of cancer in 1966 in Skull Valley, at age 50. [4] [5] The Phippen Museum was established in 1975. [5] [6] His widow authored a book about him in 1983.