William Henry Dethlef Koerner
Wilhelm Heinrich Detlev "Big Bill" Körner was a noted illustrator of the American West whose works became known to new audiences when his painting, nicknamed A Charge to Keep, was used as the cover image for the ghostwritten biography by the same name by George W. Bush. This painting, which hung in the Oval Office during the Bush presidency was of special interest to journalists due to the interpretation given by Bush of the painting's meaning in light of the meaning and title attached to the painting by the artist.
From 1922 onwards, Koerner illustrated more than two hundred and fifty stories with Western themes and painted over six hundred pictures for periodicals. He illustrated a number of books that later were made into films based on his illustrations, including those by author Zane Grey (The Drift Fence and Sunset Pass) and Eugene Manlove Rhodes' classic, Paso Por Aqui (film: Four Faces West). It is estimated he completed nearly two thousand illustrations of which about eighteen hundred were done for magazines, as well as advertisements for C. W. Post's Grape-Nuts and Postum cereals.
Maxfield Parrish influenced Koerner's bold use of color. Parrish illustrated "The Great Southwest" articles by Raymond Stannard Baker which appeared in Century Magazine. A prolific and versatile artist-illustrator, "Big Bill" Koerner's work gained considerable visibility through his cover and story illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post, The Ladies' Home Journal, Harper's Magazine, McClure's Magazine, American Magazine, Cosmopolitan and Redbook. At the time of his death in 1938 at fifty-eight, the artist had received commissions for over 500 paintings and completed drawings for more than 200 western-themed stories. Each week he produced at least one full oil, a head, and a vignette. During the last three years of his life, Koerner was seriously ill and unable to paint. Koerner's illustrations are compared with those of Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, Philip R. Goodwin, and Harvey Dunn. They are known for his bold brushwork with a vibrant color palette which enabled his vigorous depictions of the "Great American West", emblematic images of those untamed territories.
SOURCE - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Heinrich_Detlev_K%C3%B6rner (Sept 2025)
