About the work

It has been called the closest thing we will ever have to a photograph of the clash; “a frozen moment of history” - Author David D. de Haas, M.D. 

Woodcut on paper under glass titled “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” by Victor Clyde Forsythe (1885-1962). Signed and numbered in pencil, edition 9/100. Excellent condition; no signs of age-related toning. Very light handling creases upper and lower left corners, and a faint vertical crease center right.   

This work comes from the collection of Robert “Doc” Smeton, longtime resident of Twentynine Palms, California, and a close friend of artist John W. Hilton. Doc Smeton was a prolific collector of paintings by Hilton in particular, but he also acquired early works by other notable Southwest and Western artists, including Clyde Forsythe, Edward Borein, and Herman Hansen. 

In 2010, author Lee A. Silva found an original, signed pen-and-ink schematic of the "Gunfight at O.K. Corral," in which Forsythe identifies each man portrayed in the image. A copy of the schematic courtesy of the Lee A. Silva Collection (all rights reserved) is included with this listing.  

An excellent article by author David D. de Haas, M.D., published by HistoryNet tells the story of Forsythe’s depiction of the gunfight:   

Forsythe’s father, William Bowen “W.B.” Forsyth (he spelled the name without the “e”) and uncle, Ira Chandler, claimed to have actually been present in Tombstone on that fateful day to witness the gunfight. Their store, Chandler & Forsyth C.O.D., was located at 328 Fremont Street [visible to left in Forsythe’s woodcut], only a few doors east of the street fight that occurred just west of the back entrance to the O.K. Corral. … Forsythe had heard stories throughout his life, from his parents and uncle, about what they (and their Tombstone friends) had allegedly observed October 26, 1881. His father and uncle were said to have kept a diary and recorded what they had witnessed. Clyde studied this journal and visited Tombstone in preparation for his painting and included his uncle, father’s, and other eyewitness accounts. It has been called the closest thing we will ever have to a photograph of the clash; “a frozen moment of history.”

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