Little has come to light of the early life of the artist known as R. L. Day, born in a white frame house in the wooded hills of Coryell County, Texas in 1886.

Detail - "The American Shield"

What is known is the love of a blue-eyed Illinois belle named Nora Kaemper drew him to the arid plains of eastern New Mexico in 1917. Answering the call, Day was a Baptist circuit preacher and minister and so served for many years.

Upon retiring from the ministry and with a family still to feed, this remarkable man turned his resourceful energy to his art. Day created not only the incredible art, but even each frame was carefully handmade and assembled, each print precisely placed, each tiny nail carefully driven. From 1924 to 1946 Day created a total of seven memorable works.

Mostly self-taught, Day was known to have taken a calligraphy course in his youth. His first offering, The American Shield, reflects his mastery of this technique before his talents took him in a very different direction.

I spent over fifty years marveling at the work of this simple genius before discovering who he was. A cherished uncle of mine was an old time west Texas barber and had a couple of R. L. Day’s works in his shop for many years. By the early ‘50s Day had ceased his wandering ways and the specifics of who and where he was had faded from everyone’s memory.

Years passed, I inherited a Day work at my uncle’s passing, more years later a friend noticed another of Day’s works at an estate sale in the Big Bend area of Texas and presented it to me. The more I marveled at Day’s work and the more I wondered about who he was, the more determined I became to locate the creator of these mystical works.

Detail - "True Americans"

Ads in major antique-oriented publications and big city newspapers produced nothing but brick walls. Years passed with no results, then two more Day works showed up just to torment my curiosity – but finally my efforts came to fruition. A schoolmate of one of Day’s children saw an ad in a Texas panhandle newspaper and from there I was able to contact two of Day’s surviving four children. These wonderful people were very helpful and between the three of us we had a complete set of Day’s surviving works and the result is what you see here.

R. L. Day produced a total of only eight works over a twenty-five year span, seven of which are represented here. His first work, in the early 1920s, was of a motorcycle. This work, which was never reproduced, was partially destroyed in the frame by insects and if it survives today, its whereabouts remain unknown. Perhaps it lies patiently in some dusty storeroom waiting to be rediscovered and cherished.

Descriptions of Day’s works cover the entire spectrum; from "cool and campy" to "jaw-dropping awesome." If you take your time browsing the Gallery, something will reach out to you. Whether it’s the simple serenity of Home on the Range or the powerful visage of an eagle in Peace and Liberty, the pen strokes of R. L. Day linger long in the mind’s eye.

Whether you admire these works for their incredible detail or for their powerful message, their timeless essence endures.