Original hand-painted costume designs for Arthur Hunnicutt's role as Bull Harris in the 1967 Paramount Pictures Western film El Dorado, accomplished by noted Old West artist and Hollywood consultant Joe De Yong on an off-white 12.75 x 8.75 sheet, signed in the lower right in paint and pencil, "Joe De Yong." The concept sketches show the character's bearded visage at four different angles, each with his hat in a different position—tipped back to reveal his face, and pulled down over his eyes to give an air of mystery. The sketches are annotated by De Yong, "Howard Hawks: 'El Dorado'" and "Hats: 'Bull Harris.'" Matted to an overall size of 20 x 15, with a partial caption affixed at the bottom. In very good to fine condition, with toned adhesive to the top of the page, and some chips and tears to edges of the mat.
El Dorado was the last film that De Yong worked on, the capstone of a long career that included many of the era's top Westerns, including The Plainsman (1937), Union Pacific (1939), Susannah of the Mounties (1939), Northwest Mounted Police (1940), Tall in the Saddle (1944), The Virginian (1946), Ramrod (1947), Red River (1948), The Big Sky (1952), Shane (1953), and Rio Bravo (1959). That he came out of retirement after fifteen years to work on El Dorado is telling—the concept clearly impressed him, and he must have considered it to be an important project. De Yong was the only protégé of the legendary Montana artist Charles M. Russell, and he is well-known for his Western artwork. Robert Shelton's Old Tucson Studios Collection
