Donald Teague is remembered mostly for his western fine art paintings.  Teague did very few fine art westerns while he was an illustrator.  His western output picked up when he stopped illustrating at the end of 1956.  In the 1960’s, Teague’s westerns were virtually all painted in oil, and were of standard western scenes.  Teague was not satisfied with his western work, and in the late 1960’s he shared his dissatisfaction with fellow artist Jack Swanson.  Swanson suggested that he consider painting scenes similar to his western illustrations, and that he use watercolor.  Teague took this advice, with a resulting shift in subjects and medium starting around 1969.

Around the same time, Swanson also suggested that Teague join The Cowboy Artists of America, CAA.  Teague took this advice as well, and joined in 1969.  Teague showed with CAA in 1970-1972, and 1977-1978.  In 1978 he resigned after his painting Rendezvous With Wells Fargo was placed in the other media category, and not watercolor.  Teague used gouache, also known as opaque watercolor, in this painting.  The prevailing thinking at CAA was that watercolor meant translucent watercolor only – a line of thinking not shared by the American Watercolor Society and other authoritative organizations.  Teague was awarded two gold and two silver medals at CAA.

Teague was part of the first National Academy of Western Artists (NAWA) show in 1973 – his painting Appointment In Town received the gold medal in watercolor.  Teague continued to show at NAWA until 1983.  He was awarded two gold and three silver medals at NAWA.     

Below is a fairly exhaustive sample of Teague’s western fine art paintings, presented chronologically, using the best available source.