During his short 59 years of life, Bob Lee was a college track and football legend, a third-generation state senator and a cowboy from a prominent ranching family. However, Lee is perhaps best remembered for his realistic and grand sweeping paintings of the Old West.

Bob Lee, born Aug. 13, 1933, to the prominent ranching family of Oliver M. Lee, wasn't an artistic prodigy. He didn't enter high school art competitions or get a degree in art history from a university. In fact, Lee came to art in the last half of his life, when most artists begin to give up hope of ever becoming well known.

Dubbed a "cowboy artist," Lee used a variety of ways to create the rugged Old West, including oils, gouache, pencil, pen and ink and charco...