E. W. Lenders – Painter of Indians & Buffalo

Although he never attained the fame or stature of western artists Frederic Remington and Charles Russell, Emil W. Lenders was one of Oklahoma’s most prominent artists, and was recognized internationally as one of the five leading painters of Indian life, and the greatest painter of buffalo. Of him, the American Art Annals of 1898, Volume 15 Series of "Who Was Who" stated, "What Mr. Lenders says with his brush he says well" and called his works "wonderful realism " with "truth to nature."

Emil Lenders was born in London, England in 1864. When his father died, Emil was only four, and his mother returned with Emil to her parents’ home in Stuttgart. There, because his grandfather was a court librarian, Emil was able to attend a court school. Like many other youths of his time, he became an avid reader of the stories about the frontier by German author, Karl May.

Lenders didn’t immigrate to the United States until he was a young man, sometime after 1887. By that time, the huge herds of buffalo that once existed had dwindled to near extinction and the only Indians left were struggling on reservations to hold onto their way of life. Lenders was extremely disappointed that the streets of Philadelphia were not crowded with Indians as he had imagined in his childhood. But he eventually found the Old West for which he was searching when he attended Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show in Madison Square Garden.

Cody, recognizing the need for promotion, encouraged many artists, including Lenders to frequent the show. Cody actually grew fond of Lenders, allowing him to travel with the show, inviting him on hunting trips, and in 1910 giving him an expensive saddle as a gift.

According to an article in the Oklahoma City Times, in the early 1930’s Lenders "spent long hours with the show, until finally Cody persuaded him to return with them to Oklahoma. Here Lenders found the life he had been searching for always. He settled down with the Indians, lived among them: he was given an Indian name, Wambli Oyuspa, and the honor of being treated as one of their kind." Lenders description of his first visit to western territory was that it was "pretty much in a virgin state, some parts a regular wilderness."

The well-known Miller brothers gave Lenders access to their 101 Ranch, located near the reservations of a dozen Indian Nations, so he could study his favorite subjects. At one time Lenders’ goal was "to sketch every outstanding Indian chief of the different tribes" in Oklahoma. The Millers’ recruitment of Native American performers for their Wild West show also gave Lenders access to tribes outside Oklahoma. In addition, on their ranch the Millers kept a large herd of bison, which Lenders studied carefully. He made seven paintings of buffalo for the 101 Ranch headquarters. About one of his favorite subjects, Lenders said, "Buffalo should be designated the king of beasts … The buffalo is the America animal; this was his only home; he was found nowhere else. He should be preserved for all future generations." Lenders was also commissioned to paint Joe Miller ‘s portrait for the ranch.

The Miller brothers of the 101 Ranch are credited with Lenders’ decision to settle permanently in Oklahoma. The 101 Ranch Trust granted him a mortgage in 1922 for 40 acres near the town of Bliss. That forty acres became Lenders’ Thunder Bird Ranch. Over the years, Lenders had amassed a large collection of Indian artifacts that he studied and painted. He also dealt in small antiques of pewter, brass, and porcelain and sold much of his collection shortly after he purchased the ranch.

Kerr-McGee Petroleum Company in Oklahoma City reportedly owns some of Lenders’ original paintings, although no one this writer was able to speak with knew anything about them. Lenders’ oil on canvas In the Face of the Blizzard circa 1914 is on display at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 

PHOTO: In the Face of the Blizzard by E.W. Lenders, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole, Wyoming