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Welcome to The Cat Ranch Art Guild in Marble Hill, Missouri. The Cat Ranch Art Guild was started in memory of local artist, sculptor and writer Tom Runnels who died of brain cancer on September 3, 2000. The Guild’s name is taken from Tom and Saundra Runnels’ property, which is called The Cat Ranch. This organization is non-profit and founded on the goals of:
1. An association of people with like interests 2. To promote arts in the community 3. To encourage aspiring artists of any age 4. To introduce annual art shows where local people can show and sell their work
Visit Tom’s cabin studio, artwork and gravesite. So come with us now and view the area that The Cat Ranch Art Guild calls home. As you enter the property take notice of the entry arch. The large steel cat at the top of the arch is one of two cats created by the artist. The other large cat is owned by Fredericktown High School in Fredericktown, Missouri.
As you proceed down the blacktop drive, to the right you will notice the Horse and Rider. This steel sculpture and pedestal is about 18 feet long and 16 feet high with a weight estimated to be about 2 tons.
To the left of the drive, you will see the shop where Tom created most of his steel sculpture.
Continuing on up the drive you will come to the cabin studio. This houses some of Tom’s smaller sculptures, paintings and drawings. The cabin studio is open for public viewing two times a year, the last weekend in April for the Scenic Drive-Through and the first weekend in October for the Bollinger County Harvest Festival. Prior appointments can be made for special occasions. Visitors will be able to view the artwork, purchase Tom’s prints and book. The Cat Ranch Art Guild will also have their arts on display. Demonstrations of various arts will be given throughout the weekends. Browse the displays and enjoy area artists at work. Admission is FREE and with plenty of free parking.
While at The Cat Ranch feel free to visit Tom’s gravesite. Tom requested, upon his death, that he be buried across the field overlooking the cabin. This serene area is the home of one of Tom’s steel sculptures called The Guardian. What better place to have this sculpture as it guards his grave.
Hope you have enjoyed this photo tour of The Cat Ranch and that you will visit in April or October for a fun filled weekend.
For private group tours call 573-238-2334. |
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Biography of Tom Runnels
Tom was born in Marble Hill, Missouri, March 10, 1933 where he spent his pre-military days working with his father in the timber business and going to school. While stationed in Japan, during the Korean War, he studied with a Japanese artist, and later he attended Southeast Missouri State University and Kansas City Art Institute. He also worked with the late Puryear Mims, head of the art department, Vanderbilt University. Tom was a professional sculptor for about 30 years. Although he occasionally made art shows and exhibits, he worked mostly on a commission basis. Private collectors, commercial establishments, and architects have purchased Tom’s work. He had exhibited and sold widely throughout the Midwest, south, and east coast. He also has work in South America, Germany, Australia and Japan. Tom maintained his studio near Marble Hill, where he worked mostly on commissions—sculpture (metal), drawings, paintings and murals. When working on a commission basis he submitted to his clients drawing, models or photographs for approval along with explanatory tapes. Tom’s real love was welded steel sculpture done using his own special techniques. Tom’s finished pieces varied greatly in size with some of them being quite large. Paul Vance now presently owns the longhorn, which was originally built for the Longhorn Steak House in Fredericktown, Missouri. It weighs over one ton and has horns measuring 13 feet from tip to tip. Also, in Fredericktown the New Era Bank displays an eagle about 12 feet high. Another large creation, “The Archer”, is 7 feet tall and resided on Lookout Mountain in Tennessee, until it was stolen in 2002. The large horse and rider located in front of Tom’s studio is 16 feet tall, and a pair of large eagles at Salisbury, North Carolina, is 24 feet. A large blue heron was built for a restaurant in the Lake of the Ozarks, in central Missouri. These outdoor pieces usually have a rust patina, although other materials are often combined for special effects, as in the blue heron. Basically, the same techniques were used for small pieces as in the large pieces. The size may be as small as one foot or less, although the average size for a small piece is about two or three feet tall. Some of these can be seen at The Cat Ranch, studio and home of the late artist. Black River Electric commissioned Tom’s last sculpture in 1998. It took over a year to complete. Although quite ill by then, Tom spent his last year completing the project—a lineman climbing a high line pole. This sculpture can be found at the new facility of Black River Electric on Highway 67 south of Fredericktown, Missouri. In January of 2000, Tom was diagnosed with brain cancer and passed away on September the 3rd of the same year. He is remembered for his prolific art and humorous writings. For years he wrote a weekly column for several newspapers and produced two books of humorous anecdotes based on his rural life experiences. Tom’s vast talent produced original drawings, many of which were used to illustrate his two books, along with oil paintings especially of wildlife, and many commissioned drawings for Security Bank & Trust in Marble Hill, and Buchheit’s Store. In his memory, an art scholarship fund and The Cat Ranch Art Guild have been established to promote the arts. Tom’s cabin studio is in the process of being converted into a permanent gallery for displaying his work. Tom is buried on his beloved Cat Ranch, and his unique gravesite is a celebration of Tom’s love for the outdoors. Along with the cabin, it is open for public visits during the Scenic Drive-Through in April and the Harvest Festival in October.
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