A handwritten letter from Burt Procter in a sleeve attached verso dated February 9, 1976, includes this excerpt:

… I have just returned from taking “On the Watch” to be crated and sent. You should have it about Thursday. This picture has been in a group of about fifty that I keep for retrospective shows, publicity, and the like, but for insurance reasons am now almost cutting the number in half. Since it was reproduced in the Watson-Guptill publication “Western Painting Today,” on close inspection you’ll see a little difference. I worked it over a bit, and consider it a better painting. …I hope you receive much enjoyment from the painting, which I like very much myself. … Sincerely, Burt Procter

A separate letter included verso from the distinguished art dealer Cornell “Corny” Norby (1917-2008) of Fullerton, California, (later Los Olivos and Paso Robles) dated July 1, 1982, mentions Norby’s belief that the painting could be bought—likely from the individual who purchased it from Procter six years earlier—for around $7,000 (approximately $19,000 in today’s dollars).

The painting is in excellent condition and is housed in the original frame.

About the artist…

Burt Procter (1901-1980) was born in Massachusetts. He came West with the idea of becoming a mining engineer but ended up working as a commercial artist in Los Angeles during the late 1920s. He moved back to New York where he worked as art director at an advertising agency.

While in New York two artists in particular won Procter’s admiration: Harvey Dunn, whose authenticity and thoroughness intrigued him, and Pruett Carter, the distinguished illustrator for national magazines. Procter studied under Carter at night, later saying that Carter exerted a profound influence on him.

The moment that Procter decided to paint full time came in the late 1930s when he and Katherine married and settled in southern California. Up to that point Proctor had been working to discover a defining and original style of painting. He succeeded, determining that the real key to painting was an adherence to the utmost simplicity. It is a combined application of mass and color as a pattern. The viewer is allowed to fill in details, but the artist leaves no doubt as to the subject.

The Los Angeles Times obituary for Procter said of the artist: “[He is] an Easterner who portrayed the Old West with depth and color in his internationally known paintings… Procter’s canvasses and sketches have been exhibited in the National Academy of Western Art, the National Academy of Design and in museums throughout the United States. … Although he was best known for his portrayals of subjects ranging from harsh desert landscapes to portraits of the Southwest’s Indians, he refused to be classified as a Western artist.”

Packaging and Shipping

We gladly provide shipping quotes upon request. 

Sales tax

Items shipped or delivered to a Nevada address will include applicable sales tax on the purchase invoice.