Duane Bryers

He met his second wife Denise "Dee" Ray (November 3, 1924 – January 29, 2002[4]) and lived with her in a Mexican village 90 miles from Mexico City in the early 1970s.

In 1937, Bryers won a cash prize with a mural depicting mining history in Minnesota, later using the money to move to New York.

For the military base newspaper, he drew posters and comic strips featuring his original character Cokey.

[6] After his military service, Bryers mainly illustrated calendars on the theme of American frontier, which were published by Brown & Bigelow in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

He also exhibited at the Prix de West at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, where some of his paintings are in the collection.

There he was awarded the Trustees Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Western Art in 1980 on the occasion of a solo exhibition.