Elling William Gollings
1878-1932

Elling William Gollings was born in Pierce City, Idaho in 1878 and died in Sheridan, Wyoming in 1932.  He lived in Idaho, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming.  Gollings grew up on an Idaho ranch, went to high school in Chicago and then returned West to work as a cowboy.  He is known to have worked in a number of mining and cattle towns in North and South Dakota and Wyoming.

Gollings hero in the arts is said to have been Frederic Remington.  At the age of 31, after he had been painting for six years it was remarked that he thought of following Remington's footsteps.  To do so, he established a studio in Sheridan, Wyoming but he continued to supplement his income by breaking horses and punching cattle.  His work has become important for its accurate depiction of the Old West as well as its beauty.

Abstract by Paul Koch