Sometimes an artwork is special because of who created it, sometimes an artwork is special because people have collectively decided it is (think Mona Lisa) but other times a rather ordinary artwork becomes special because it witnesses special people or events. It changes from being just an artwork to a historical witness.
 
This rather ordinary open lithographic print falls into that third category. It hung at The Hitching Post hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The Hitching Post was called both the “Western White House” and “The Second Capitol of Wyoming” during the period from 1950-1985.  It hosted five presidents, one vice president and other movie and music notables.  It was the place to be and be seen.  One of its claims to fame was it hosted Robert Kennedy Jr twice, once with his brother John in 1960 and a second time in 1968, two weeks before he traveled to California.  On that trip to California, he was assassinated.  The Hitching Post had 161 guest rooms and only a few public spaces, so ContreLeMur is working to find out where this lithograph hung and what may have happened in that space.  Depending upon where this piece lived, it may have been a silent witness to a president’s pondering, a movie stars private moments, a rockers raucousness or Robert Kennedy during his last month.
 
For the artwork side of the story, this is a lithographic print, created sometime after 1950 from the California artist Stanley M Long (1872-1972), it is part of the Western art movement, was originally done in as a watercolor on paper.  The open edition lithograph has artist signature and date within the image.  It is fully matted and framed in a natural light wood frame.  The frame has boreholes which are part of the word and not damage.  The frame is in tight cornered condition.  It has wire hanging hardware, an original dustcover with “The Hitching Post” in red pencil and a few three- and four-digit numbers on the back.  It is under glass and in excellent vintage condition.  Framed measurements 24”x 20” x 1.5”, image 19”x14”, the green mat is not evenly cut top and bottom but is visually appropriate for the image.
 
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