Sedona is known as both a artist’s haven and a cultural center of Western heritage. On Saturday, July 18, the Cowboy Artists of America celebrated 50 years bringing out the best of their combination.

A 50th anniversary dinner was held at the Silver Saddle Room of the Cowboy Club in Uptown. The restaurant was the original site of the group’s foundation.

Then known as the Oak Creek Tavern, on June 23, 1965, Joe Beeler, Charlie Dye, John Hampton, George Phippen and Robert MacLeod got together over drinks and formed the Cowboy Artists of America.

At the dinner, current members, including Vice President Ron Riddick, President Bill Nebeker John Coleman, David Halbach and Beeler’s son Jody, got together and recounted old stories and told jokes about talking animals before settling down to eat with friends and family.

The artists’ mission is to “authentically preserve and perpetuate the culture of Western life in fine art,” according to the group’s website. Nebeker and Riddick agreed emphatically with that point, noting the challenges and rewards of working in their specific genre.

“We have the same values as when the organization first started,” Nebeker said. “Representational realism that depicts a Western way of life.”

To read the full story, see the Wednesday, July 22, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.