Harold Dow Bugbee is best known for his portrayals of ranch life, a subject
reflected in his paintings as well as his book and magazine illustrations.

Bugbee was born in Lexington, Massachusetts. In 1912, he went West to live on a
ranch near Clarendon, Texas. He attended public school in Clarendon and attended in 1917 attended Clarendon College. The following year he attended Texas A&M College and then graduated from the Charles Cumming School of Art, Des Moines, Iowa, in 1921.Following graduation, Bugbee studied in New York City and then returned to Clarendon in 1922.

Bugbee traveled regularly to Taos, New Mexico to paint with members of the Taos art colony. Drawing from his experiences living on a ranch, he did illus...