08/19/2026
The Sigler Western Museum is saddened by the passing of our beloved friend and artist, Robert “Shoofly” Shufelt, on August 12, 2026. We invite you to read the following **in memoriam** tribute from our Chief Curator:
Remembering Robert “Shoofly” Shufelt (1935–2026)
By Tricia Loscher, Chief Curator, Sigler Western Museum
Robert “Shoofly” Shufelt was a renowned Western artist whose nickname originated during a 1967 Verde Vaquero ride. Even before moving to Wickenburg, he was drawn to Arizona and the Western way of life that would become the subject of his art.
In the mid-1970s, Shufelt and his wife, Julie, left Chicago and settled on her family’s ranch near Wickenburg. Nearly two decades as a commercial illustrator had given him formidable technical skills, but Wickenburg immersed him in the working West. He rode horses, worked cattle, shared trails and camps with cowboys and ranchers, and became part of the community he drew. The people he encountered were not simply his subjects; they were his friends. “It is their story that I am telling, and they have allowed me to live it with them,” he said.
The Desert Caballeros Trail Ride exemplified Shufelt’s connection to Wickenburg’s cowboy life. As a Caballeros member, he documented the ride through sketches published in Arizona Highways in 1980. His drawings captured the movement, camaraderie, horses, dust, and character of the ride. During the 1980s, his art became woven into Wickenburg’s identity, appearing at Gold Rush Days and other community events. Julie, herself an artist, shared these experiences with him, and together they became deeply involved in local ranching culture and traditions.
Growing up in Wickenburg, I remember hearing Shoofly’s name and seeing his work around town and in galleries. His drawings were part of the visual landscape of the community in which I grew up. Only later did I understand how much those early encounters – and artists like Shoofly – shaped my own decision to study art and ultimately devote my career to Western art and history.
Working primarily in graphite, Shufelt transformed pencil on paper into an extraordinarily expressive means of recording the West. Weathered faces, horses, leather, dust, worn tack, and the subtle bond between horse and rider became part of his visual vocabulary. Yet his technical skill never overshadowed the humanity of his subjects. He captured both the action and the quieter moments of ranch life – the fellowship, humor, dignity, and hardships of Western life.
Shufelt also recognized the essential role of women ranchers and generously supported fellow artists. Western painter and Sigler Western Museum’s Cowgirl Up! artist, Shawn Cameron, was among those who credited him with encouraging her work and helping open doors in her career.
Around 1990, Bob and Julie moved to New Mexico, where his national reputation continued to grow. In 2014, he received the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. Bob and Julie also donated more than 130 artworks to the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, ensuring that a significant body of their work would remain accessible to future generations.
Throughout, Wickenburg remained fundamental to Shufelt’s story. It was here that a gifted illustrator became immersed in the world he would spend the rest of his career recording. The ranches, horses, trail rides, working cowboys and cowgirls, and Arizona landscape became part of the visual language he carried with him throughout his life.
Shoofly hoped his drawings would preserve the cowboy legacy – the people, animals, traditions, and work of a world he believed deserved to be remembered. For Wickenburg, those drawings carry an especially personal meaning. They preserve not an imagined West, but a community and way of life he knew firsthand.
For those of us who grew up here, Shoofly’s legacy became part of our own story. I count myself among the people he inspired. His example helped show me that the art, history, and people of the American West were worthy of a lifetime devoted to their study and preservation.
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Robert "Shoofly" Shufelt 1935-2026, "Goodbye Wickenburg", 1985, Graphite on Paper; Photo Courtesy of the Sigler Western Museum
