Boyd Elder:
The Most Famous Artlaw
You’ve Never Heard Of
Top image of Boyd Elder’s artwork courtesy of: KRTS. Photo below of Boyd Elderand his artwork courtesy of: Stephen Peebles
by Stephen K. Peeples
A
self-described “artlaw” whose alias
was “El Chingadero,” Boyd Elder
had deep family and artistic roots
in Valentine, Texas.
Elder’s great-grandfather, William Eli
Bell (1861-1919), was among the men
who laid out Valentine, which straddles
the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks and
was incorporated on Feb. 14, 1882.
Bell donated the land and (most like-
ly) drilled the well for the local water
works, which was built and operated by
Boyd’s grandfather, Howard Laben Bell,
Sr. (Jan. 15, 1898-Aug. 27, 1956) and
his son Howard L. Bell, Jr. The elder Bell
also constructed Valentine’s first school-
4
house.
The Bells set up and ran the area’s first
phone system, with Boyd’s Great-Aunt
Fannie wrangling the switchboard.
The West Texas desert was Boyd’s
muse since boyhood, and after his count-
less escapades in far-flung locales, he
invariably returned to Valentine to regen-
erate and create. Eventually, he parked
his Ford pickup and Mercedes-Benz
sedan there for good.
“A lot of people think I spend all my
time at art openings and red-carpet
continued on page 26
Cenizo
First Quarter 2019