Mehl Lawson

Mehl Lawson is an artist in three mediums: sculpture, braiding, and horses. He is also an heir to the proud vaquero tradition of Old California—a dedicated disciple of the refined, subtle elegance of the Santa Barbara style that inspired the creative spirits of such men as Ed Borein and Luis Ortega.

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There is the same kind of magic in the hands that shape the sculptor’s clay and his rawhide braiding as there is in the hands that hold the reins of a horse. Lawson is accomplished in each venue and brings to each a concentrated focus that produces horseback memories and sculptural images of pure grace and beauty.

Lawson excels at depicting the devotion between a man and his horse, and his sculptures capture the spirit of the Western buckaroo—the working men of the great California and Nevada ranches. He is happy to combine the world of horses with that of fine art and his rawhide braiding artistry.

He received the Frederic Remington Award and the Express Ranch Great American Cowboy Award at the Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition and Sale, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City. He has received numerous Gold and Silver Medals and Best of Show awards at the Cowboy Artists of America Sale and Exhibition held at the Phoenix Art Museum. He was honored with the Thomas Moran Memorial Award for Painting in 1998 at the Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale at the Autry National Center of the American West, Los Angeles. Lawson lives in Bonita, California.

Mehl Lawson is represented by Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Jackson, Wyoming.