Artist Biography Dee Flagg

In Scottsdale and the Southwest, the name of Dee Flagg is synonymous with authentic life-size carved characters of the Old West such as Buffalo Bill and Wyatt Earp. He began carving intricate figures and Old West scenes from age 5, and in 1951, his work was first marketed by Atkinson's Indian Trading Center, then in downtown Phoenix and later in Scottsdale.

“Dee” Flagg (1922-1999) is a world-renowned woodcarving artist, widely regarded as The Premier Old West Woodcarver of his era, carving only with hand tools (never using power) a source of artist’s pride. A master among his peers, his 65-year career earned him scores of awards and artistry honors, including BEST IN SHOW at the world’s largest woodcarver’s exhibition in Toronto. He has been featured in print, notably Arizona Highways, on numerous occasions. The Scottsdale (Arizona) Historical Society hosted a one-man retrospective honoring the life and work of this great artist (8/99).

Each of Flagg’s woodcarvings is individual, original and unique. No reproductions of his works have ever been permitted by the artist or his estate. His works are tightly held in private, civic and corporate art collections. Collectors of Flagg’s works include(d) the legendary William S. Hart (California Museum), Gene Autry, Dale and Roy Rogers, J. Edgar Hoover, President Richard Nixon and Russell Knott (founder of Knott’s Berry Farm). His work is displayed in municipal buildings and museums throughout the West and his larger works were favorites of bank and corporate art collectors. His rendition of Christ in the West is displayed in a prominent Scottsdale, Arizona church. Flagg’s figures are rarely offered on the secondary marketplace.

Dee Flagg did wood carvings for a time in 1940’s Hollywood. He set up shop in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in his old red 1914 LaFrance fire engine, moving it forward each hour to avoid a ticket. He had a figure of Sitting Bull (now on display at the museum) in the passenger seat and wood carved panels and statues affixed to the sides and along the hood.

Flagg was a prodigious carver. Twelve inch Cowboy statues were his main product, collected by famous Hollywood actors. His works included thick wood panels up to three feet wide and twelve feet long. Stagecoaches were one of his favorite subjects, robberies in particular. He loved to include outlaws in his works; Jesse James and Billy-the-Kid were most popular.

Besides being an internationally famous old-west-theme wood carver, Dee was a gifted and inventive mechanic; justifiably proud of his exotic, classic and famous old purple Rolls Royce. He once converted a motorcycle frame into a bicycle and rode it on the streets.

Dee Flagg was very popular and highly visible in Scottsdale for over forty years. He loved to chat with his adoring public. Dee was present and a guest of honor of the Baker Family at their opening of the Buffalo Museum of America in 1992 at its last Scottsdale location near Shea Boulevard and Scottsdale Road. Just prior to that 1992 opening, several of the Dee Flagg life-size carvings were acquired by the Baker’s and displayed at the Museum.

In later years, Flagg became a noted pioneer-era historian, speaking at schools and community colleges. His wood carvings remain highly-desired; he carved right up to his passing in 1999.