Pony Express Rider

Oil painting on canvas "Pony Express Rider" by Allen True. The painting depicts a winter scene, features a man on horseback holding a rifle with three men and another horse nearby. In the background, a wood pole gate/arch and leafless trees are visible. Height 12 feet by Width 3 feet. The vertical painting is designed to fit into moulding on an angled wall in the corner of the Senate chamber.

Allen True (1881-1955) was an American illustrator, painter, and muralist whose work focused on depicting the American West. True was born in Colorado and educated at the University of Denver, the Corcoran School of Art, the Howard Pyle School of illustration, and in London. True created illustrations for books and magazines such as the "Saturday Evening Post" and created easel paintings, but he is, perhaps, best known for his murals. Union Oil hired True to create a panorama for their exhibit at the Panama Pacific International Exposition (1915), but his big break came in 1917 when the State of Wyoming requested that True submit a proposal to the Capitol Commission for murals that would be placed in the House and Senate chambers. He proposed four murals for each chamber, stating in his proposal, "At a time when public buildings in the country are being much decorated with mural paintings of an allegorical type, there is a fine opportunity here in Wyoming to use the magnificent historical data of the State for subject matter; to honor the pioneer and to record for coming generations the picturesque phases of the West, which were nowhere more adaptable than in Wyoming. This I propose to do." True went on the create murals for the Missouri State Capitol, the Colorado State Capitol, the Brown Palace Hotel, and many other buildings. True was also commissioned in 1935 to design the iconic Wyoming license plate design featuring the Bucking Horse and Rider.