Bill Hart Jr. Collection.

All of the items listed here were in the possession of William S. Hart Jr. — the only child of William S. Hart and Winifred Westover — at the time of "Junior's" death in 2004. All were acquired for the SCVHistory collection between 2018 and 2020 by purchase at multiple auctions and through a generous donation. (Read about the establishment of provenance here and here.)

Some of the material, such as Flagg's painting of the horse Fritz, and mementoes from the wedding of Bill Sr. and Winifred, are historically interesting in their own right. Others, such as mass-produced publicity photos of the elder Hart, gain significance with the understanding that Bill Jr. — who was raised by his mother and estranged from his father — kept them throughout his life. We have grouped them into what we're calling the "Bill Hart Jr. Collection" because together, they shed some light on the way Bill Jr. remembered his father.