Paul Dyck

Paul Dyck, 88 of Dyck Ranch near McGuireville, passed away on February 14, 2006. He is survived by his sons John (Cindy) and Paul (Janet) and grandsons John Patrick and Jeffrey James. Paul was born August 17, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois and spent much of his youth in Germany and the former Czechoslovakia. At the age of eight he moved to Florence, Italy, where he served as artistic apprenticeship under Johann von Skramlik, his uncle and a well known portraitist of the time. Paul returned to the US in the early 1930's, married Fawn One Elk and lived among her Lakota people along Grand River on Standing Rock Reservation, South Dakota. Working as a commercial artist, Paul divided his time between Chicago and Grand River until Fawn died in childbirth around 1936. Paul moved to Arizona's Verde Valley and acquired ranchland along Beaver Creek. During World War II, Paul served in the US Navy and helped design training manuals. In 1946, soon after his honorable discharge from service, he married Louise Torti, mother of his sons John and Paul. The couple lived at Dyck Ranch until their divorce in 1966. Louise Torti remained in Camp Verde until her death in 2004. In 1967 Paul married Jean Hamilton and the couple resided at Dyck Ranch until her death in 1997. Paul was not only a working rancher but an internationally known painter, famed for his sweeping abstract lines, forceful presentation, glass like tempera glaze, and use of color especially the bold hue often referred to as "Dyck Red". In the 1950's and early 1960's he exhibited in New York, Chicago, Beverly Hills, Scottsdale, and Tucson. He was best known for his paintings of the Indian peoples of the Southwest and Great Plains and horses. Paul's consuming interest in the Plains Indian people caused him to create the world's largest and most significant private collection of 19th century Plains Indian culture material. It was his dream to one day build a museum at the site of the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana, where he envisioned a monument to "the buffalo culture".
Paul's expertise in Plains Indian culture caused him to be consulted by numerous tribes and museums about the history and lore of particular pieces. His research skills led, in 1971, to publication of BRULE: THE SIOUX PEOPLE OF THE ROSEBUD, a book of late 19th and early 20th century photographs of the Lakotas. In 1989, the University of Montana rewarded Paul's efforts to preserve Plains Indian culture with an honorary doctorate. Known by his Lakota friends and relatives as "Rainbow Hand", Paul Dyck's hand touched the lives of many, all of whom will miss his presence among them.