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ther eighth graders might have been disappointed had they received a folding

chair for winning the schoolart contest. Not Frank Champion Murphy.

“My prize was a so-called art scholarship tothe Field Museum of Natural History inChicago,” Murphy remembers. “But when I gotthere, I found out the prize was actually afolding chair. So I’d take the chair, go aroundthe museum, and draw animals. I went therefaithfully. I loved it. I got to know that museumfrom top to bottom.

“Looking back on it, that chair was a greatprize. I probably got more out of it than ifthey’d given me $5.”

More than six decades have passed sinceMurphy, then 13, won that school art contest.For the last five of them, Murphy, now 78, hasbeen a part of the American AngusAssociation, doing what he does best —drawing. Through the years, his life-likepaintings and illustrations of Angus cattle havegraced the covers and inside pages of the Angus

Journal and have been featured in Angusadvertising throughout the beef industry. Atthe Association’s headquarters in St. Joseph,Mo., more than 100 of Murphy’s originalpieces hang on the walls.

“It’s been a wonderful experience to be apart of the Association,” says Murphy, a talland lanky man with a gentle voice. “They’re aunique and inspiring group. They all believe inwhat they’re doing with such sincerity, and itpermeates from the top, starting with DickSpader.”

Spader, Association executive vice president,has known Murphy almost 30 years. “I don’tknow if enough good can be said aboutFrank,” Spader says. “He’s done an exemplaryjob in capturing what we have always strivedto accomplish with our illustrations. And he’sa real gentleman and such a pleasure to workwith.”

Childhood daysMurphy was born in Vinton, Iowa, in 1920

and grew up near Chicago, surrounded by

For half a century

Frank Murphy

has brought

Angus cattle to

life on canvas.

B Y S H E R Y L S M I T H - R O D G E R S

pencils, crayons, paints and paper. Like hismother, Lucile Champion Murphy, heobserved nature and drew picture after pictureof what he saw.

“She painted and made beautiful, delicatedrawings of flowers,” Murphy says. “Herpainting of a deer on a mountainside was an

early inspiration.“I was always drawing as a

child. I didn’t know I was going tomake a living from it,” hecontinues. “I didn’t know that Icould. I grew up in theDepression, and the consensusthen was that artists starved ingarrets.”

Summer visits to his mother’sfamily ranch near Brownsville,Texas, further sharpenedMurphy’s skills in sketching

animals. His great-grandfather, AlbertChampion, settled in the area in 1847 and ranLonghorn cattle on ranches he owned alongthe Rio Grande River. On La Gloria Ranch,Murphy — surrounded by cowboys, horses,Longhorns and endless vistas of the SouthTexas brush country — tirelessly captured thescenes on paper. To this day, he takes pleasurein painting Western-style scenes that recallthose days.

His professional startIn 1938 Murphy enrolled at Iowa State

University and studied aeronauticalengineering. He also studied architecture at the

University of Texas in Austin but returned toIowa State. “I couldn’t decide what I wanted tobe when I grew up,” he says with a wry laugh.“My credits were too mixed up, so I ended upwith an industrial economics degree and adouble minor in journalism in 1943.”

At Iowa State the second time around, here-met and married Evelyn Brown, his wife of55 years.

“He was the first date I had at Iowa State,”recalls Evelyn, whom Murphy affectionatelycalls “Evie.” “One of his fraternity brothersfixed us up.”

After World War II began, Murphy wascommissioned in the Navy. “I spent a year anda half in the Pacific on an amphibious ship asengineering officer, so I had a lot of time tothink of the future,” Murphy says.

His older brother, Edward, who graduatedfrom Iowa State three years before him, did notsurvive the war. “He was a B-25 pilot and wasshot down in the Pacific in 1943,” Murphy says.“He held a degree in animal husbandry andhad made a start in the meat industry when hewas called to active duty. Edward was mygreatest supporter and mentor.”

After his discharge in 1945, Murphy decidedto pursue his dream.

“Evie was willing to put up with a strugglingartist,” he says. He used the GI Bill to attendthe Chicago Academy of Art. After one year hebecame an apprentice to a commercial artist inChicago and began freelancing. “The firstaccount I landed was Quaker Oats,” he says. “Idrew pictures of cows, poultry and other farmanimals for their line of livestock feeds.”

His work with Quaker Oats led to animportant turning point in his career in 1948.“I started doing ads for Harry Barger, anaccount executive for Ful-O-Pep Feeds atQuaker Oats,” Murphy recalls. Barger alsohappened to be good friends with Lloyd Miller,then the public relations director for theAmerican Angus Association, which was atthat time headquartered in Chicago.

“Harry decided he wanted me to do workfor the Angus Association because I’d done aHereford steer for a Quaker Oats campaign,”Murphy says. For his first assignment, hecreated Miss Black and Baby Black to go withMr. Black (done by Barger) to make apersonable Angus “family” for ads designed togive Angus a strong identity in the beef cattleworld.

“The problem with Angus is that they don’tphotograph well,” the artist explains. “So thisreally made my work important to the Anguspeople, because I could draw black Angus andpaint them so they’d reproduce well.

24 ■ ANGUSJournal ■ December 1998

Frank Murphy and his wife,Evelyn, now reside half the yearin Wheaton, Ill., and the otherhalf in Fort Myers, Fla.

To commemorate the centennialof the introduction of Angus to the United States an Angusstamp was issued in 1973. “The stamp was a highlight of my career and my career with the Angus Association,” Murphy says.

Reproduction then was very poorcompared to today. So it was veryfortuitous for my career as an Angus artist.I came along at the right time.”

The Association benefited from itsrelationship with Murphy, too. “Frankupgraded the image of the quality of Anguswith his well-drawn illustrations,” saysMiller, who retired from the Association in1978 after 31 years. “They weren’t just of abull standing crooked. They weregorgeous.”

On the Association teamAfter the Association moved to St.

Joseph in 1956, Miller became executivesecretary, and Bob Snyder replaced Miller.“Bob was a great innovator,” Murphy says.“He was very instrumental in developingadvertising and a public relations program.He and I worked closely together on manyprojects.”

Snyder’s great dream was to get the U.S.Postal Service to issue an Angus“centennial” stamp in 1973, which wouldmark the centennial of the introduction ofAngus to the United States in 1873. Helobbied in Washington and got the stampapproved — but not the design. Instead,the assignment went to an artist inConnecticut.

“One day my phone rang, and it was awoman with a Texas accent you could cutwith a knife,” Murphy says. The high-ranking postal official had seen Murphy’spainting of a bellowing Angus bullsurrounded by Longhorn cattle and asked ifit could be used for the stamp. “I think Icould accept that all right,” Murphy toldher.

The Angus stamp, issued in 1973,became part of a “Rural America” series.“The stamp was a highlight of my careerand my career with the Angus Association,”Murphy says. “It was a big feather for Bobto get that Angus stamp, and it was allbecause of him.”

Murphy’s Angus workWhatever the Association needed —

illustrations for newspaper and magazineads, booklets or brochures — Murphygladly drew or painted.

“I designed everything that the AngusAssociation put into print form, such asannual reports, educational andinformational booklets, even matchbookcovers,” he says. “They would send outprints of my work to various farm

December 1998 ■ ANGUSJournal ■ 25

“The way to get inside an animal is to focus on its eyes. They make the animalcome alive,” says Frank Murphy. “Then I focus on the nuances, such as how thefeet are poised and the head is held.”

On his cafeteria-tray-sizedhomemade palette, artist FrankChampion Murphy squeezes out dabsof ultramarine blue, burnt sienna,titanium white and other paints whosehues are as varied as their names.

But no black. Never.“I don’t use black,” he says, “and I

paint Angus cattle.”A paradoxical

palette? Not toMurphy.

“There is no blackin nature,” heexplains. “Black isactually an absenceof light, an absenceof color. The ‘black’coat we see is actually reflecting thecolors of light surrounding it.”

To create his own ebony and charcoalhues, Murphy blends ultramarine blueand burnt sienna. The mixtures producesubtle warm and cool shades of blackthat highlight the animal’s muscle tonesand glossy coat.

Murphy most enjoys painting in theearly morning in his studio, one side ofthe two-car garage at his Florida home.A thick sheet of plastic covers theconcrete floor beneath the huge,wooden easel Murphy made years ago.Set upon it is a work in progress calledDreams of Glory. The self-portraitcommemorates Murphy’s brief stintwith a cavalry unit in the Texas NationalGuard.

“I always wanted to do a painting ofthat time,” Murphy says of four

cavalrymen on horseback. “It was anostalgia trip for me doing it. That’s mein the forefront as a young man. Myhorse’s name was Top Kick. He was abeautiful horse but blind in one eye.”

Galloping to their destination, thehorses in the painting train their eyessteadfastly ahead while one steals a

sideways glance athis comrade, TopKick.

“I love to getexpressions intothe eyes,” Murphysays. “That’s whatgives me the mostenjoyment inpainting animals, to

try and give the expression of what theanimal is sensing or feeling.

“I paint the eyes early on in theprocess,” he continues. “For somestrange reason, I start out with the ears,but then I go right to the eyes. The wayto get inside an animal is to focus on itseyes. They make the animal come alive.Then I focus on the nuances, such ashow the feet are poised and the head isheld.”

Murphy often paints from memory. “Isee it in my mind’s eye, almost in afinished form,” he says. “But itundergoes a lot of changes as I paint. Imake a lot of discoveries as I work.

“Painting is a creative process. Youhave an idea of where you want to go,but in getting there, you sometimestake some surprising turns.”

The tools and techniques of an artist

magazines, which alwaysliked to get color work theycould use on a cover, and itwas great publicity for theAssociation.”

From the early St.Joseph years, Murphyworked closely with KeithEvans, the Association’slong-time and influentialdirector ofcommunications andpublic relations.

“Frank Murphy cameon board because he couldmake cows look good inprint,” Evans says. “No onecan paint or draw Anguscattle that look realisticexcept Frank. No one hasthe knack that he does.”

Murphy can take aconcept and bring it to life.“No matter what projectyou’re working on, if yougive him the rough idea, itwill always turn out better

than you could ever have hoped,” Evans says.Murphy also works with the Certified Angus

Beef (CAB) Program, led by Executive DirectorMick Colvin. He designed the Program’s nowwell-known logo. Earlier this year he completeda large montage to commemorate theProgram’s 20th anniversary and its divisions.Using hundreds of photographs as references,Murphy sketched and painted nine detailedscenes, such as genetic consultant RichardWilham seated before a computer, inspectors

and meat packers on thejob, and a blonde-hairedwoman (his favorite model— Evie) holding a plate ofCertified Angus Beef ™“value-added products”(corned beef, pastrami,sausage and other meats).

The artist todayThese days Murphy and

his wife live half of the yearin Wheaton, Ill., and theother half in Fort Myers,Fla. They have twochildren. Son Tom Murphyis an executive in the

animal health division of research anddevelopment with Abbott Laboratories inNorth Chicago, Ill. Daughter Julie Heller, aspecial-education teacher, and her husband,

Rich, have one daughter, 7-year-old Katie, andlive near Chicago.

Whether at home in Wheaton or FortMyers, Murphy enjoys time with his paintbrushes and canvases. Before starting, healways pulls on a knee-length canvas apronsmeared with old paint, loops it around hiswaist, and snugly fastens the long ties.

“I’ve had it 40 years,” he confesses. “It’s anapron for feedmill operators that was given todealers by Ful-O-Pep as a premium.”

Evie has her own favorite apron — a frillypink one made of gossamer fabric, given to herat a bridal shower. Evie, who frequently donsthe apron when entertaining, retired in 1984after teaching sixth grade in Glen Ellyn, Ill., for21 years. Nodding toward her easy-going, soft-spoken husband, whom she calls “Murph” andsometimes “Champ,” she says, “What you see iswhat you get. One time Murph went to thedoctor, and his blood pressure was so low, thedoctor told him, ‘Man, I’m not sure you’realive.’ ”

In addition to Angus and Southwesternscenes, Murphy paints breathtaking portraitsof Florida wildlife, especially birds. Scores ofhis many different works done in watercolor,oil, pastel and Conte pencil — both originaland prints — hang in private and corporatecollections around the world. In past years healso has received numerous awards in theannual Sanibel-Captiva Art League Show insouthwest Florida.

Of all his many Angus paintings, Murphyhas no favorites. But several have becomefamous, such as the bellowing bull standingamong Longhorns and another of a calfmesmerized by a fluttering butterfly.

“That one is probably my most famouspainting,” he says of the calf painting. “Itcaptured the imagination of so many people,especially women and children. I painted it inabout 1960, and I needed something for thecalf to focus on. Then I thought of a butterfly.”Both originals hang on walls at the Associationheadquarters.

Despite his extraordinary abilities with apaint brush, Murphy remains a modest manwho prefers to give others the credit.

“The real story is the exceptional peoplewho I’ve had the good fortune to work for andwith in the Angus Association,” he says. “It wastheir enthusiasm and creative vision whichinspired me to accomplish more than Ithought I could.”

Anyone who looks at a Frank ChampionMurphy painting — be it Angus, Southwesternor wildlife — knows better.

26 ■ ANGUSJournal ■ December 1998

The Mists of Autumn, a FrankMurphy oil painting that hangs inthe Association’s board room,has been reproduced as alimited-edition collector’s artprint. Only 500 copies have beenprinted, signed and numbered bythe artist. Sales of the printbenefit junior Angus programsthrough the Angus Foundation.

Murphy says this image of a calfmesmerized by a butterfly isprobably his most famouspainting. It was done about 1960.