by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

Artists will soon be solicited to paint a portrait of Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves for display in the Arkansas Capitol building. Reeves will be the first African-American and first non-governor to have a portrait in the Capitol, according to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office.

Reeves was a U.S. Deputy Marshal under U.S. Federal Judge Isaac C. Parker. Reeves was born a slave in Texas in 1838 and died in Muskogee, Okla., on Jan. 12, 1910. Reeves was an African-American and illiterate, but captured more outlaws than anyone else, according to the book, “Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves,” written by Art Burton. Burton wrote that Reeves was an expert tracker and detective, and was able to memorize the warrants for every lawbreaker he was to arrest and bring to trial. Reeves was the first African-American inducted into the Great Westerners Hall of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City in 1992.

A 25-foot tall monument of Bass Reeves was unveiled in downtown Fort Smith in May 2012. It was created by sculptor Harold T. Holden. The larger-than-life statue of Reeves also includes his horse, Blaze, and his trusty dog, named simply “Dog.”

Bass Reeves portrait to be on display in the Arkansas Capitol