“It just seems like [Louis L’Amour] was part of a lot of people’s households,” says Allyson Sheumaker, executive director of the A. R. Mitchell Museum in Trinidad, Colorado. So, when the folks at the museum had the opportunity to display and sell some original cover art and sketches from dozens of Louis L’Amour books, they didn’t hesitate to put together a show. 

Gregory Manchess is an award-winning illustrator and artist and has been working on illustrations for advertisements, magazines, and book covers for almost 50 years. One of the authors whose covers he worked on was Louis L’Amour, and he has done all the cover art for the L’Amour family for the past 30 years.

 

Last year, Manchess was a part of the A. R. Mitchell’s annual illustrator show and suggested organizing a show of his L’Amour works at the museum. This year, his solo show, titled L’Amour by Manchess, is running alongside the illustrator show titled Character in Context. Running from May 2 to the end of September, the Manchess show is longer than most shows at the museum.  

“The show is going be hanging for about six months, which is twice as long as we normally do it, Sheumaker says. “We wanted it up during our busy season of the year, which is May through September.” 

The show features 46 pieces, including original sketches and paintings that range from $40 to $6,000. All but 17 of the pieces are for sale; those 17 belong to the L’Amour family. The show opened May 3 with an artist demo by Manchess and other artists, plus a live figure drawing class and a lunch. Approximately 350 people attended the opening. 

“People of all ages came in for the show,” Sheumaker says. “There were people in their eighties, and there were people in their twenties, all having the same feeling. And it seems like everybody has some kind of Louis L’Amour connection.” 

Besides the opening festivities, the museum also hopes to host Beau L’Amour, son of Louis L’Amour, for a talk on the Manchess collection and L’Amour’s legacy. Visit the museum’s website at www.armitchellmuseum.com for more information on that event and on available pieces.