THE WALK, TOMBSTONE 1881

Masterwork – Ltd. Ed. 35, 29”H x 54”L x 20”D
Maquette – Ltd. Ed. 45, 13”H x 36”L x 10”D

Vic Payne’s latest sculpture, “The Walk, Tombstone 1181,” transports us directly into the heart of the American Old West’s most iconic confrontation: the O.K. Corral Gunfight. In this dynamic Western bronze sculpture, Vic not only brings Doc Holliday, Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp to life but also captures their very essence—the raw courage, tension, and legacy that echoes through time.

Vic Payne transports us back to the morning of Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona, where tensions were high due to a group of outlaws known as the Cowboys, led by Ike Clanton. These outlaws had been causing trouble and openly defying the law for months. The Earps, a family of lawmen and businessmen, had their lives threatened multiple times by the Cowboys, and the feud continued to escalate over cattle rustling, stagecoach robbery, and murder. The atmosphere in Tombstone was thick with unease and tension, the air crackling with impending conflict.

According to historical research, Virgil Earp, the town’s marshal and deputy U.S. Marshal, along with his brothers, Morgan and Wyatt, and Wyatt’s close friend, Doc Holliday, approached the Cowboys with their guns holstered. Attempting to peacefully disarm the Cowboys by enforcing the city’s ordinance prohibiting carrying weapons in town, Virgil said, “We don’t want any trouble. We just want your guns.” The Cowboys hesitated momentarily before reaching for their guns, ensuing a thirty-second shootout that became one of the most famous gunfights in the history of the West, known as the O.K. Corral Gunfight.

“I’ve wanted to capture this moment in bronze for decades, but felt I wasn’t ready to do so then. This pivotal moment lingered in my mind’s eye, continuing to call me to create it. With ‘The Walk, Tombstone – 1881,’ I wanted the viewer to step into the past and feel the weight of that moment that forever linked the Earps, Doc Holliday, and the Cowboys to the rich tapestry of the American West. I wanted to capture the fifteen seconds before the gunfight and the emotions, tensions, and larger-than-life characters that have captivated imaginations for generations,” says Vic Payne.