Stephen Howard Naegle, Thickett No. 1

Written by NEHMA's Staff member Katie Whitmore

February 2, 2015

Stephen Howard Naegle (1939-1981) was a western watercolor artist who both taught and studied at Utah State University, and later taught at Casper College in Wyoming. He was an individual who never stopped working on his craft and created over 326 pieces during his career, five of which are in NEHMA’s permanent collection.

Thickets are a prominent subject in several of Naegle’s paintings, but Thickett No. 1 is different. It is far more detailed than Naegle’s other thicket pieces and uses an exciting array of colors to bring the scene to life. On average, Naegle's thicket pieces utilize neutral colors and simple lines, but he branched out with Thickett No. 1 and created a complex, mystical scene with a wide range of colors. He once said, "My paintings are about the west today, or at least my experience with it…my attitudes and feelings towards it, including a sense of yesterday and some concern for the future."