An Enduring Legacy
02/17/2026 01:47PM ● By Skylar Leeson
"Canada, Hitching the Sleigh," Robert Lougheed, oil, 24x30
In he early 1960s, a young artist named Dwayne Harty set out from San Francisco in a 1964 Ford Mustang, driving toward Santa Fe with fellow artist Randal Dutra. Their destination was the studio of Western painter Robert Lougheed.
For Dwayne, the journey marked the beginning of his classical training – and the start of a relationship that would shape his life and work. “That experience changed the course of my life,” Dwayne says.
Now Dwayne is one of seven artists featured in Steamboat Art Museum’s latest exhibit, “Lighting the Way: Robert Lougheed & His Legacy.”
“Bob Lougheed was a truly great artist who gave freely to his peers and to younger artists he mentored,” says Bill Rey, co-owner of the Claggett/Rey Gallery in Avon, who curated SAM’s exhibit. “Many of the great artists we’ve worked with over the past 40-plus years were influenced by him.”
Long before Robert Elmer Lougheed became a defining figure in Western art, he learned to observe the world through close study of animals and landscape on his family’s farm in rural Ontario. Raised in Massey, Ontario, Robert developed an early sensitivity to movement, light and form – lessons learned not in a classroom, but through direct experience. That way of seeing would later define both his art and his teaching.
Robert trained at the Ontario College of Art, the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, and the Art Students League in New York before building a dual career as a successful commercial illustrator – most famously creating the red Pegasus logo for Mobil Oil – and a fine artist devoted to the American West. His time working at New Mexico’s historic Bell Ranch proved especially formative.
“Most of the paintings featured this winter in Steamboat were created from life, out in the field,” Bill explains. “They weren’t made for the market. They were personal references – work Bob used later when creating studio paintings.”
That emphasis on working directly from life left a lasting imprint on his students. “He taught us to squint and simplify, to see what really matters,” Dwayne says.
“Lighting the Way” brings together artists whose paths reflect Robert’s mentorship, including Terri Kelly Moyers, John Moyers, Dwayne Harty, Randal Dutra, Hannah Harper, Wayne Wolfe and Josh Elliott. Their work demonstrates how Robert’s teachings continue across generations, not as a fixed style, but as a disciplined way of seeing.
“Dedication to our craft stands out most,” artist Randal Dutra says. “The importance of working directly from life –personally experiencing what you paint. Look for the larger, simple shapes first, then graduate to the more specific and detailed.” That grounding, he explains, allows him to move fluidly between painting, sculpture and animation. “Knowing the fundamentals, with the necessary discipline, allows you to move into various forms of expression.”
That philosophy is echoed by Hannah Harper, whose work reflects the same commitment to observation and presence. “The importance of working from life is so closely tied to everything,” Hannah says. “I paint outside as often as I can and that influences everything I do in the studio.”
Robert’s impact is both foundational and deeply personal for painter Terri Moyers. A longtime student of Robert’s, Terri embodies the continuity between teacher and practice, carrying his lessons forward through her refined use of light and immersive approach to landscape painting.
“Bob instilled in me, in all of us, the undeniable lessons that only drawing and painting from life can give,” Terri says. “Draughtsmanship, design, color, light and the joy of seeing and creating – these were the things that reverberated in our heads every day, from early morning until the light was gone.” To say his influence mattered, she adds, “would be an understatement; it was paramount.”
Beyond technique, Terri remembers Robert as a model of character. “Bob was a gentleman: kind, hardworking and absolutely devoted to his art,” she says. “He loved nothing more than painting from life, which to him was ‘like eating ice cream.’”
That joy, rooted in discipline, generosity and deep attention to the natural world, echoes throughout the exhibition. Together, these artists demonstrate why Robert Lougheed’s legacy endures, not only through his paintings, but through the artists he taught and inspired, and through a commitment to seeing directly from life.
“Lighting the Way: Robert Lougheed & His Legacy” is on view at Steamboat Art Museum through Saturday, April 11 and may be visited during regular museum hours. For more information, visit www.SteamboatArtMuseum.org.
In he early 1960s, a young artist named Dwayne Harty set out from San Francisco in a 1964 Ford Mustang, driving toward Santa Fe with fellow artist Randal Dutra. Their destination was the studio of Western painter Robert Lougheed.
For Dwayne, the journey marked the beginning of his classical training – and the start of a relationship that would shape his life and work. “That experience changed the course of my life,” Dwayne says.
Now Dwayne is one of seven artists featured in Steamboat Art Museum’s latest exhibit, “Lighting the Way: Robert Lougheed & His Legacy.”
“Bob Lougheed was a truly great artist who gave freely to his peers and to younger artists he mentored,” says Bill Rey, co-owner of the Claggett/Rey Gallery in Avon, who curated SAM’s exhibit. “Many of the great artists we’ve worked with over the past 40-plus years were influenced by him.”
Long before Robert Elmer Lougheed became a defining figure in Western art, he learned to observe the world through close study of animals and landscape on his family’s farm in rural Ontario. Raised in Massey, Ontario, Robert developed an early sensitivity to movement, light and form – lessons learned not in a classroom, but through direct experience. That way of seeing would later define both his art and his teaching.
Robert trained at the Ontario College of Art, the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, and the Art Students League in New York before building a dual career as a successful commercial illustrator – most famously creating the red Pegasus logo for Mobil Oil – and a fine artist devoted to the American West. His time working at New Mexico’s historic Bell Ranch proved especially formative.
“Most of the paintings featured this winter in Steamboat were created from life, out in the field,” Bill explains. “They weren’t made for the market. They were personal references – work Bob used later when creating studio paintings.”
That emphasis on working directly from life left a lasting imprint on his students. “He taught us to squint and simplify, to see what really matters,” Dwayne says.
“Lighting the Way” brings together artists whose paths reflect Robert’s mentorship, including Terri Kelly Moyers, John Moyers, Dwayne Harty, Randal Dutra, Hannah Harper, Wayne Wolfe and Josh Elliott. Their work demonstrates how Robert’s teachings continue across generations, not as a fixed style, but as a disciplined way of seeing.
“Dedication to our craft stands out most,” artist Randal Dutra says. “The importance of working directly from life –personally experiencing what you paint. Look for the larger, simple shapes first, then graduate to the more specific and detailed.” That grounding, he explains, allows him to move fluidly between painting, sculpture and animation. “Knowing the fundamentals, with the necessary discipline, allows you to move into various forms of expression.”
That philosophy is echoed by Hannah Harper, whose work reflects the same commitment to observation and presence. “The importance of working from life is so closely tied to everything,” Hannah says. “I paint outside as often as I can and that influences everything I do in the studio.”
Robert’s impact is both foundational and deeply personal for painter Terri Moyers. A longtime student of Robert’s, Terri embodies the continuity between teacher and practice, carrying his lessons forward through her refined use of light and immersive approach to landscape painting.
“Bob instilled in me, in all of us, the undeniable lessons that only drawing and painting from life can give,” Terri says. “Draughtsmanship, design, color, light and the joy of seeing and creating – these were the things that reverberated in our heads every day, from early morning until the light was gone.” To say his influence mattered, she adds, “would be an understatement; it was paramount.”
Beyond technique, Terri remembers Robert as a model of character. “Bob was a gentleman: kind, hardworking and absolutely devoted to his art,” she says. “He loved nothing more than painting from life, which to him was ‘like eating ice cream.’”
That joy, rooted in discipline, generosity and deep attention to the natural world, echoes throughout the exhibition. Together, these artists demonstrate why Robert Lougheed’s legacy endures, not only through his paintings, but through the artists he taught and inspired, and through a commitment to seeing directly from life.
“Lighting the Way: Robert Lougheed & His Legacy” is on view at Steamboat Art Museum through Saturday, April 11 and may be visited during regular museum hours. For more information, visit www.SteamboatArtMuseum.org.