Painting receives permanent home

Photo by Mike Eckels The Decatur Public Library recently received this Gail Watford painting, “Kansas City Southern,” from an anonymous donor June 13. Watford, whose son lives in Gravette, completed the painting in early 2015, and it was last displayed at the Works of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie, Wyo., until a few weeks ago when it was purchased and brought to Decatur for permanent exhibition.
Photo by Mike Eckels The Decatur Public Library recently received this Gail Watford painting, “Kansas City Southern,” from an anonymous donor June 13. Watford, whose son lives in Gravette, completed the painting in early 2015, and it was last displayed at the Works of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie, Wyo., until a few weeks ago when it was purchased and brought to Decatur for permanent exhibition.

— One of the most iconic symbols of Decatur is the Kansas City Southern locomotive, an EMD F7A built in 1950, on display at the Decatur Depot. More than a thousand visitors a day pass by the engine. Some stop to take pictures and admire its might, a shining star of a bygone era.

On June 13, the Iva Jane Peek Library in Decatur received an anonymous donation of a painting of the KCS train engine. Karen Jones, library administrator, was happy to receive the donation but wanted to at least acknowledge the donor for the gift.

"It is a beautiful work of art that was given to us," Jones said. "I just want the donor to know how much we appreciate the work of art and thank them so much for the gift."

The 22x18-inch acrylic work entitled "Kansas City Southern" was painted by Gail Watford, a native of Arkansas.

Watford grew up in the quiet little town of Quitman, a community of about 600 near Heber Springs in north central Arkansas. She received a bachelor of arts degree in education from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway in 1975.

Watford works in several art mediums, including ink, charcoal, watercolors, pastels and acrylics. She portrays a wide variety of subject matter, from trains to landscapes to wildlife.

In 2006, Watford moved to Wyoming. On occasion, she returns to the area where her son and his family live and work in Gravette.

On one trip to Northwest Arkansas, Watford decided to stop at the Decatur Depot to take photographs of the iconic Decatur landmark. Once back in Wyoming, Watford transferred the engine photograph to canvas using acrylic and the "Kansas City Southern" painting was born.

The painting's first showing was the 2015 Rail Art Show at the Cheyenne Depot Museum in Cheyenne, Wyo. The painting was later transferred to the Works of Wyoming Museum where it was on display until it was purchased and sent to the Decatur Library.

Gail Watford's "Kansas City Southern" painting can be viewed during regular library hours. For more information, contact Karen Jones at 752-7323.

General News on 06/22/2016