The Museum of Western Art will open its new exhibit, Shermalee & Lou, The Mack Cowboys, with an evening reception on Saturday, January 25, 2025. The exhibit honors the work of Bandera husband- and-wife sculptors Shermalee and Lou Mack, featuring 19 bronze sculptures focused on Western life.
John Mack, one of Shermalee and Lou’s eight children, enjoys sharing the remarkable story of his parents’ lives. Lou Mack grew up on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in South Dakota. Life was harsh, but Lou and his 10 siblings were raised in a loving, stable home. After his mother died when he was nine, Lou found himself shuttled between an Indian Boarding School and working the agency “beef camp” to manage cattle. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and qualified for flight school in Colorado Springs.
In contrast, Mary Shermalee Willard, raised as an only child in a prominent household, enjoyed a comfortable upbringing. Shermalee’s father, a pioneer aviator and rancher, moved the family frequently between ranches in Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and Arizona. In 1945, the Willards purchased a ranch near Trinidad, Colorado, the same time Lou was in flight school. A meeting arranged by Lou’s sister on the Trinidad Ranch began a love affair that lasted over 80 years.
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