Arrowhead Art Collection | Kansas City Chiefs - Chiefs.com

Oil on Canvas

Prior to the settling of the American West in the 19th century, prairie fires typically resulted from lightning strikes. American Indians observed that those fires always yielded green pastures, since the burning process returned nutrients to the soil. Nowadays, controlled fires keep saplings from spreading while rejuvenating the bluestem grasses. In the spring, these fires sometimes stretch for hundreds of miles across the Flint Hills.

Ranchers, like those at the Flying W, use controlled fires today. Copt grew up on the edge of the Flint Hills watching the annual prairie fires, which serve as the inspiration for many of his oil paintings.

Copt is a native of Emporia, Kansas.

Louis Copt