Channing Peake Letters to Joe De Yong

Channing Peake (1910-1989)

Channing Peake was born October 24, 1910 in Colorado, but soon moved out west to California. He attended both the California College of Arts and Craft and the Santa Barbara School of the Arts under scholarships. He studied under notable artists Colin Campbell Cooper, Douglass Parshall, and Edward Borein during his school years. Borein supervised Peake, Joe de Yong, and Will James on a mural project at the El Paseo Restaurant in Santa Barbara. Peake then went on to work under silversmith George Steedman at his estate Casa del Herrero.

After school, Peake traveled through Arizona and New Mexico. Encouraged by the inspiration he found in the Southwest, he traveled further to Mexico. During his time in Mexico, Peake worked briefly as an assistant to Diego Rivera, and also observed Dr. Alfonso Caso at several archeological digs. Many of the letters in this collection are written during this trip through Mexico and after his return to the United States.

Upon returning to the states, Peake joined the Art Students League and studied under muralist Rico LeBrun. LeBrun supervised Peake on another mural project, this one government-sponsored. Peake also traveled to Old Lyme, Connecticut during his time on the east coast and studied at the art colony there.

After his marriage to Catherine Schott in 1938, Peake returned to Santa Barbara. He and his wife purchased a ranch there, which they called Rancho Jabali, and they become involved in ranching operations and Quarter Horse breeding. Rancho Jabali also served as artistic inspiration for much of Peake's art. His works are often Cubist-inspired abstractions of western objects and motifs. After two other marriages and a lifetime spent creating art, Peake died May 31, 1989.

Joe De Yong (1894-1975)

Joseph Franklin De Yong was born on March 12, 1894, in Western Grove, Missouri, but he spent the majority of his life in Montana and California. He is best known for being a painter and illustrator, but he also worked as a scenario research consultant for western movies. After a childhood illness left him deaf, De Yong spent much of his time sketching. He was enamored with Charles M. Russell’s paintings, and eventually met and befriended the acclaimed western artist. Russell and his wife Nancy spent time with the young De Yong, and Russell taught and mentored him until Russell’s death in 1926. De Yong then moved to California. He survived by selling illustrations in magazines and books by authors such as Will James, and designing and illustrating Christmas cards. He began his consulting career in 1936 and retired in 1967. His filmography includes Wells Fargo (1937), Union Pacific (1939), Tall in the Saddle (1944), Buffalo Bill (1944),The Virginian (1946), Shane (1953), and El Dorado (1967). De Yong died April 1975.