Art for the Bank

Lewis W. Douglas, best known to the general public as onetime U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain (1947-50), is proud of his Arizona heritage. In the past month, Douglas has indulged his natural pride by buying nine highly dramatic paintings of the Old West, all done in the early 1900s by Newell Convers Wyeth. Among the most picturesque is an illustration for a book called Arizona Nights, entitled "He Called Him Out and Shot Him in the Stomach." All demonstrate Wyeth's eye for action, his command of atmosphere and his passion for correct detail.

Douglas bought the paintings not for himself but to embellish the new Tucson headquarters of the Southern Arizona Bank & Trust Co., of which he is chairman of the board of directors. For the same purpose, he has also picked up two small bronzes by Charles Russell and one by Frederic Remington. Douglas believes that the collection will pay for itself by attracting and pleasing customers and visitors. Says Douglas: "It seemed to me respectable for a three-ball joint like ours to have a good collection."