The Breen Gallery and Bud Breen present Sheriff Norman Hooten with an Original Bud Breen oil painting

Pictured above is the presentation by The Breen Gallery of "Kinney County Sheriff" to then sheriff, Norman Hooten. You can get a glimpse of Brackettville's most controversial sheriff in this Texas Ranger Memoir.

Norman was loved by pretty much all of us here in Brackettville, but he was what you might call... human. He did all he could for the community and more, but he wasn't perfect. Locals are still fiercely loyal to his memory.

Bud Breen seemed to have styled "Kinney County Sheriff" after Norman. The painting didn't look exactly like him, but there were strong resemblances, especially the leather vest. Norman was rarely seen that he wasn't wearing that leather vest. He was likely wearing it under his jacket in the photograph above.

The Breen Gallery already owned this painting when Jewel, the gallery owner, decided to gift Norman with it. Bud was called and asked to be there for the presentation. That's Bud Breen on the far left, then from left to right are Dixie Brown (Jewel's right hand woman for umpteen years), Jewel Robinson, and Sheriff Norman Hooten. It's easy to see Norman's signature on this photograph. But to see Bud's you'd have to click on the painting (which will enlarge it) then really really look because although it's there, it's difficult to see.

Surfing the net for Bud Breen?

There is limited information about Bud Breen on the internet and most of it is easy to find but you do have to dig a little. I can save you a some time. Here are the sites I most often refer people to when they want to know more about Bud Breen and his paintings of the old west.

Alamo Village, The Alamo, Gunfighters, and Brackettville
Bud Breen in 1961
Bud Breen in 1964

There's not much of anything at the following site about Bud, but you can see an image of a mural Bud did that hangs in the Bandera, Tx Chamber of Commerce:
Bud Breen Mural


If you do a search on this page for the word, "Nakai" you can read about Bud's amazing wife, she inspired a lot of his work:
Cherokee Nation

This New York Times article briefly mentions Bud's wife Nakai in regard to her work with the Kickapoos:
Nakai Breen -- New York Times


This link mentions Nakai and includes a small image of one of Bud's paintings, a spiritual piece, that depicts Nakai herself:
All Native People


A few interesting photos including one with Bud Breen and Don Collier with a brief mention of Bud and his wife Nakai:
Don Collier

Bud Breen Painting Images Online

Below are links to two different photo sites where I have uploaded some of our gallery's original Bud Breen paintings. This is not a complete catalog of our paintings and the prices are not listed. It's just an opportunity for you to browse through a portion of the gallery online. Some have been sold, not all that have sold have yet been marked as such. These sites weren't created for the public, per se, they're just a convenience for the gallery but I get a lot of email requests to see more photos so, here you go! The dimensions on them are a bit confusing, it's a long story as to why..... If you have questions about any of these paintings, just drop me a line that includes a link to the painting you want to know about, then I can get you more information on it. I can take more photos of specific paintings on request. -- Genie

Bud Breen Painting Images

More Bud Breen Painting Images

Artists of Texas II -- A Fine Art Catalogue -- Bud Breen

To help promote Bud Breen's art, The Breen Gallery bought two pages featuring Bud Breen and his original western art work in the 1988 publication of Artists of Texas. Above is a look at those two pages and a close up crop of Bud himself as featured in the catalogue. By clicking on any of the images you'll be able to see them full-size. Those numbers are not good anymore, by the way. And the gallery has moved since this catalogue was published. If you want to reach The Breen Gallery nowadays, email is your best bet! The Breen Gallery doesn't even have a phone number anymore. People either just come by or send us an email. Frequently Ebay sellers will use the words (our words) written for this advertisement in their descriptions for their own Breen listings. It definitely doesn't mean we have anything to do with those sellers.

Bud Breen -- Race Against Time -- SOLD -- 24 x 36 -- an Original Oil Painting depicting life in the Old West

Bud Breen loved incorporating comedy into his original western art as you can see in these two saloon paintings. The interior of the saloon depicted in "Race Against Time" above is typical of the many structures built in the late 1800's that are still standing here. They tend to be dark, were not really built to last (yet many still stand), and the style of those shelves can be seen in some of the historic buildings around Brackettville. ********* ********************* *************** ***********

I will try to add photos of such places as soon as I can. Bud Breen's work was meant to record history as well as to illustrate it. Or, at least, to illustrate Bud's impression of it. ********************** *************** ************* *****

"Race Against Time" is a 24 x 36 that we sold recently on Ebay. *********** **** ********** ********** ******* **************** ************

Below is, "And One For My Spotted Friend," another 24 x 36. I include it in this post because the bar has so many similar elements to the one above. Notice the similarity in the diamond shapes of the bar's front panel, the same bartender (mayhap someone Bud knew or, perhaps, someone he knew only in his mind), the same style of lamp, not to mention that yet another rider has ridden right on into the bar in direct defiance of the clearly posted sign that says, "No horses, no guns inside." "Spotted Friend" really is that red. But it looks much better in person. For some reason, Bud's reds and browns are hard for me to shoot on film.

All our Breens are originals. We don't make, sell, or handle prints or reproductions.

An introduction.

I am Jewel Robinson, owner of The Breen Gallery in Brackettville, Texas. From 1988 through 1999 I purchased many of Bud Breen’s paintings. I never bought Breens from any other source. Bud Breen would create his paintings depicting life in the old west at his kitchen table just a few blocks from my office and, when he was ready, would hand deliver them to The Breen Gallery himself.

Mr. Breen and I had a special arrangement over the course of our eleven year association. If he painted it, then I purchased it………. although it doesn’t sound so special when it’s typed up that way. He also sold paintings to other individuals during the time we were acquainted and did many commissioned pieces, but mine was the only gallery to work with him exclusively. The Breen Gallery has always been devoted to showing and selling only his work.

During the time that I was associated with Mr. Breen I did not make note of when the various paintings we purchased from him were completed. Hindsight is 20/20. It’s unfortunate that I can’t precisely date each painting we have by him.

There is a brief biography of Bud Breen in the book, “Texas Artists, Volume II.” Bud's bio in the book was written by us at The Breen Gallery when the book was published in 1988. Unfortunately, the book has no ISBN# and is difficult to come by. But there is much information to be found online about Bud and his widow, Nakai. Bud passed away on September 1, 2005. Nakai still resides here and, to the best of my knowledge, still holds a Medicine Wheel at her house every year. There’s not much more I can tell you about him that you won’t find on the internet, although I’m happy to try and answer any questions you may have. I hope to compile a history of his life here and photographs of the area as they relate to his work.

Now, let’s talk about me! My family has owned property in Kinney County (which is where Brackettville is located) since 1971 and I have lived here since 1982. I bought the rights to the original newspaper that was printed here back before any of us were born, The Brackett News, and brought it into the future. I was the publisher of The Brackett News for 17 years before selling it just over a year ago. I have always been and continue to stay involved in the local community, most especially in regard to historical preservation.

This Blogspot is actually run by my daughter in law, Genie, as I don’t really “do” computers. I sell the paintings, make the business decisions, pay the bills, set prices… regular boss-type stuff. Mostly it’s just me but Genie helps me with the computer and online end of the Gallery's business. There isn’t much “we” to The Breen Gallery. But “we” sounds more impressive, don’t you think? So, we at The Breen Gallery thank you for taking the time to read this. We’ll be adding more of Bud’s paintings and information about the area's history (as it relates to Bud's work) to this blog as time allows and we hope you enjoy looking at the paintings as much as we do.