April 27, 2005

The Harness Tracks of America College Scholarship Fund has been named worldwide agent for the woodcarvings of John Kittelson, leading figure for the last 17 years in the annual HTA art auction and one of the world’s most renowned figures in animal woodcarving and classic dioramas.

Kittelson has granted the Scholarship Fund exclusive selling rights, not only of his harness carvings, but of his infinitely detailed works on western and African animals, the scaled reproductions of authentic western vehicles, and the famed Kittelson dioramas in his Cody, Wyoming, museum. The two most spectacular carvings in the collection are the nine-foot long Budweiser Hitch, with its eight giant Clydesdale horses, and an 8-foot-6-inch masterpiece of a western stagecoach procession. The works, including prices, can be seen online at www.johnkittelsonwoodcarvings.com. They also are linked thru the HTA Web site, www.harnesstracks.com.

Kittelson, now nearing the end of his carving career, was an authentic American cowboy. He ran away from home at 13, joined cattle drives, roped calves, participated in rodeos, broke broncos, and became a saddlemaker. Along the way he mastered woodcarving, first specializing in wild animals of the American west, including mountain lions, bobcats, grizzly bears and bison. Working mostly in basswood, his animals found buyers from South America to the Orient, and a number of American collectors who began assembling collections of his work. His dioramas of western scenes are populated with people, dogs, horses, cattle and vehicles.

In 1988, after seeing what appeared to be a photograph of the Budweiser hitch and finding it was in fact a Kittelson woodcarving, HTA executive vice president Stan Bergstein contacted Kittelson and asked if he would consider doing some pieces for the HTA art auction. There was no response for six months, and then six completed pieces arrived, which sold for $28,000 at that year’s auction. The sale turned out to be fortunate for both HTA and Kittelson, for he was seriously injured in early spring that year in a rodeo accident in which he almost lost his foot after being thrown from a racing wagon, and was unable to carve for the rest of the year.

He has contributed pieces to every HTA art auction since, most of them winding up as sales toppers. What may be his final harness racing works will be sold at Tattersalls this fall at the annual HTA auction.