Russell Steel Obituary

An artist who was a familiar sight at his easel in front of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot, Russell Levi Steel died Tuesday, July 27, 2010, in Durango. He was 92.

Known as "Rusty," he was born to Thomas and Letha Steel on Dec. 6, 1917, in Fort Smith, Ark. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Mr. Steel trained as a gunner and was set to deploy just when the war ended.

He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethany Peniel College, now Southern Nazarene University, in Bethany, Okla.

Mr. Steel became interested in art during the war when he was commissioned to create United Service Organizations posters.

While stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, he met his future wife, Audrey Kinsey. On Feb. 21, 1942, the couple married in Wichita Falls.

They settled in Oklahoma after the war to raise their family. Although Mr. Steel still pursued his art, he supported his family as a carpenter and house painter. It was not until their last child left home that he began to pursue an art career in earnest.

In 1973, Mr. and Mrs. Steel began a short period of traveling that centered around art. Summers usually were spent in the Durango area, winters in the South and south of the border in Mexico. One journey took them on a tour of Europe. But they always were called home to Durango, where they began to put down roots.

Mr. Steel still traveled, painting different areas of Colorado and other points west, but they had found a community in Durango. For many years, Mr. Steel operated the Cinders Art Gallery, but he most often could be found outside the D&SNG railroad depot with his easel and paints. His family said he always was ready for a chat with anyone prepared to stop and watch him paint.

Over the years, Mr. Steel's paintings have been in shows produced by the National Academy of Design in New York and Watercolor USA. He has been listed in Who's Who in American Art and his works can be found in homes, museums and galleries across the United States. A permanent exhibit is hanging in the D&SNG Railroad Museum, and it contains numerous originals, including a mural painted for the exhibit.

A selection of Mr. Steel's watercolors will be on exhibit in the Barbara Conrad Gallery at the Durango Arts Center from Aug. 6 to Sept. 4 during the Artists' Market.

Mr. Steel was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Audrey Steel, and daughter, Joyce Moore.

He is survived by his daughters, Sue Cheveallier of Folsom, La., Ellyn Marsh and Luci Seem, both of Oklahoma City, and Jayne Stasser of Arapahoe, N.C.; son, Don Steel, of Oklahoma City; brother, Tommy Steele, of Seymour, Tenn.; 14 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Cremation will occur. Private family services will be held.