James Frederick Reno was born in Wheeling, West Virginia on March 14, 1929. He was raised by his mother who supported Jim and his older brother. Their mother, Mary Ann, was born in Belfast, Ireland. By the time the 1940 federal census was taken, Mary Ann was working in a Chrysler automobile factory in New Castle, Indiana, about 44 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Jim grew to love horses and remarked in some of his interviews how much he enjoyed drawing them. Jim added that he wasn’t drawing horses just because he wanted to draw them. He was drawing them because he wanted to be around them and be outside. His first attempt at sculpture was to carve a wooden Hereford cow, a project of a wood carving class. At the request of an ag teacher, it was used in class. His teacher entered it in a state competition, which it won. In a 2005 interview, he said that he still had that carved Hereford.
After Jim graduated from high school, he said that his brother Ray encouraged him to go on to art school. Jim entered the John Herron Art Institute and secured a five year scholarship. After graduating from Herron he was interested in pursuing his career with the Walt Disney company, but on his way to a follow up interview with Disney in California, he stopped off in Houston, Texas. While in Texas, he read a newspaper article about a horse sale at the Houston Livestock Show and remembered thinking that if someone was willing to pay $150,000 for a horse, then someone might be willing to pay $150 for a sculpture of one.
Jim took a job at a ranch in the Webster area, the future home of NASA, breaking horses. He enjoyed working with the big animals and practiced his art in his spare time. In his interviews, Jim noted his growing appreciation for cutting horses, their qualities of athleticism and for their temperament.
Jim said that he was signed as a sculptor by the Meredith Long Gallery in 1968 and that he was the gallery’s only sculptor at the time. Meredith J. Long was about the same age as Jim and had become a successful art dealer and collector. Long was a United States Air Force veteran and had earned an undergraduate degree from University of Texas at Austin. He became an art dealer in Houston around 1957 and eventually moved to a location in River Oaks. Long also became known as a philanthropist by the time he died in his early 90s, he had donated many works of art to Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Jim was grateful for his support and patronage over the years.
Jim married the former Mary Jo Schrock in 1974 and the couple had several children. In an interview, he credited his faith in God and the influence of Mary Jo for his success. He called her his best critic. They lived for a few years in Simonton, in far west Fort Bend County. The couple then moved to near Kerrville in 1981 on a 190 acre ranch south of town. His studio had a scenic view toward the Guadalupe River. Jim remarked that he and Mary Jo had looked all over the United States for a place to live before they chose to make their home in the Texas Hill Country.
Jim was always busy with his sculpture work but also was active breeding, raising and training cutting horses for around thirty years. He became well known in that business. His first horse to be a winner was named Madida. She was an Arabian mare and was named Horse of the Year in the Gulf Coast Cutting Horse Association. A later top horse of his was named Sab, a half-Arabian mare. Jim’s expertise with horses led to his work with the National Cutting Horse Association. He served in several capacities with the NCHA including seven terms as president of the organization. Jim was later inducted into the NCHA Members Hall of Fame.
Below are some of his works in sculpture and their current location, if known:
- “Brand Inspector” – Completed in 1983. Stands at the headquarters of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raiser’s Association in Fort Worth, Texas. Depicts a mounted inspector and a longhorn steer. A small working model was presented to President Ronald Reagan for the White House permanent collection.
- “Comanche Scout” – Completed in 1991. Depicts a Comanche standing aboard a pony. One of several portraits created by the artist with Comanche riders riding horses.
- “Secretariat – 31 Lengths” – Secretariat was the first horse to win the Triple Crown in 25 years. He won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths. Commissioned by Penny Tweedy and completed in 1973. Depicts a jockey and Secretariat in stride. Currently displayed at the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga, New York. It was earlier shown at the White House in 1976 during an Irish State Dinner during the presidency of Gerald Ford.
- “Robert Justus Kleberg” – Completed in 1983. Depicts cattleman Robert Kleberg aboard his horse. It stands on the campus of Texas A&M University at the Kleberg Animal and Food Science Center.
- “Quanah Parker” – Completed in 1986. Located in San Antonio, Texas.
- “Charles Goodnight” – Completed in 1987. Located in San Antonio, Texas.
- “Secretariat” – Secretariat as an older sire. Completed in 1992. It stands at the Secretariat Center (Thoroughbred Retirement Center) of the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.
- “Dash for Cash” – Completed for the American Quarter Horse Association headquarters at Amarillo, Texas. Dash for Cash was the first two time winner of the Champion of Champions race. Recasts of this sculpture are installed on the campus of Texas A&M and at the entrance to the 6666 Ranch in Guthrie, Texas.
- “Mr. San Peppy and Buster Welch” – 1976, depicts champion cutting horse and legendary trainer Buster Welch.
In one interview, Jim gave a typical timeline for one of his large sculptures. The whole process might take a year, more or less. He said that the first ten months would begin with the construction of a small model of the project. He then would make a full sized clay enlargement. From the clay enlargement, he would make a mold and take it out of his studio in sections. In the last two months the mold would be taken to a foundry and cast in bronze.
Reno related an anecdote regarding his first Secretariat commission. He was invited to see the great horse in Saratoga, New York to get the exact measurements, his initial step as he began his work. He arrived at 6 a.m. as Pinkerton guards were stationed to allow people to view the famous racehorse. Jim said a New York reporter took one look at him as he was dressed in his hat, old worn boots and jeans and remarked “You don’t have a chance, cowboy.” As Reno exited the stall with his measurements, he caught the eye of the same reporter and just tipped his hat to him.
Jim Reno died at the age of 79 on November 1, 2008 at his home. His memorial service was held at First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville where he was a long time member. He is interred at Glen Rest Cemetery.
Sources: Liz Kellar’s excellent profile of Jim Reno called “The heart of a horseman” in the Weekend Edition of the Kerrville Daily Times, October 2-3, 2004. Kerrville Mountain Sun article (no writer named) about Reno in its issue of February 20, 1988.
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