William H. Macy, Jr.

William H. Macy Jr. entered the world on March 13, 1950, in Miami, Florida. He was born to Lois, a war widow whose first husband died in 1943, and he has a half-brother, Fred.
Macy's father was a Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal winner for piloting a B-17 FLying Fortress bomber during World War II.
He lived in Georgia for a while, then moved with the family to Cumberland, at the age of nine, when his father took over the reins of a local insurance agency.
A shy young boy until Fred taught him to play the guitar, W.H. sang a song onstage for a school assembly, and the crowd went wild. He served as president of his class in his 11th and 12th grades, although, in his words, he was a terrible student.
He began his veterinarian studies at Bethany College in West Virginia, then transferred to Goddard and became involved in the theatre, graduating in 1971.
His entry into the "real world" came with a move to Chicago, where he toiled as a bartender and, with good friend David Mamet and others, formed the St. Nicholas Theatre Company.
He spent some time in Los Angeles, then moved - in 1980 - to New York City where he appeared in more than 50 Off-Broadway and Broadway plays.
At last count his face, or his voice, has appeared in at least 63 films - some on the big screen and others on television. He's been nominated for an Oscar, and he's won two Emmy Awards for both acting and directing "Door to Door", the story of a handicapped salesman intent on making his living in the real world.
Since 1997 he's been married to Felicity Huffman, a successful actress herself who currently stars in the very popular "Desperate Housewives" tv series.

Lee Teter

Lee Teter is a convoluted person; his talent and ability are well-known, but the man behind the brush chooses to stay in the shadows. Naturally withdrawn, he prefers to let his brush speak for himself, with his "Reflections" painting perhaps the most vivid description of the Viet Nam era's controversial aftermath.
Raised in Flintstone, his early life was one of poverty, but still he was able to draw - and draw well. Most of his early works were given to those whose influence dictated their creation. He painted portraits, t-shirts, cars, signs and billboards, and he drew pictures. He had to take a menial job to support himself and his new wife, eventually moving to Cumberland to do so.
His Cumberland house was run-down on the outside, but Teter stripped the interior, converting it into his studio. He ignored the exterior, claiming it didn't matter in the long run. "We live on the inside" he said. It was here where "Reflections" would be painted.
His "paying" job lasted all of three months; Lee quit because it interfered with his painting interests. He felt that he was drying up, having little time to create. By this time he was working completely in oils - teaching himself the intricacies and concentrating on Native American and frontier culture. The paintings sold and his future began to take shape.

Deaths of prominent people in Lee's life helped shape his "Reflections" effort. His cousin, Rick, was killed heading home from work, at age 28. His mother-in-law, then his grandfather, Jacob, passed away; they both played influential roles, but Lee's life was shrinking.

Visiting a cemetery, he realized he wasn't seeing stones and inscriptions, but names and events. Slowly the idea for the painting took shape and, over a few campfires, he decided to proceed. Local people would be featured in the work, including Mickey Bands, who was killed in Viet Nam. A family friend, Bill Custer, was another, as was Jim Williams, a veteran and a member of the local Viet Nam Veterans Association.

Lee had previously painted a portrait of a soldier in Viet Nam, and, at a mall art show, it drew little attention at a time when few cared to discuss the war; he gave it to a veteran who showed interest in it, Bill Farrell, a member of the small veterans group. He decided to give "Reflections" to the chapter for their own use - and the rest, as they say, is history.

Lee had a lot of respect for Viet Nam veterans, but the final design was understandably difficult to put together. It took months to finish - more months to introduce and promote - and his financial problems mounted. In his mind the most important priority was the work he was producing. Finally he wrote a license to reproduce and distribute the prints to the "Reflections" committee of VVA Chapter 172; he was pleased to be a part of the effort to do a good thing. He signed over 23,000 prints, and the veterans used the proceeds to enable many other chapters throughout the United States to get started. Lee received enough money to pay most of his debts, bought a used car and moved back into the hills, essentially ending his painting career, except for a few, occasional efforts, for the next 10 years.

He restricted himself to drawing while continuing his intense study of America's frontier years. Eventually that genre began a slow climb to popularity, and he was contracted to work with Michael Mann's 1991 version of the film "Last of the Mohicans." He designed major portions of the film and had a hand in every visual aspect as historical and frontier culture advisor and visual arts consultant.

After the film was introduced his print sales climbed, to the point he was able to move his family to Wyoming, one of the nation's least populous states, where he lived simply and quietly.

His daughter, Shawnee Rachael, has begun her journey into the world of art; she operates a small gallery named "The Little Art Gallery On The Prairie" and it contains primarily original paintings and drawings made by her father, as well as some bronze work by a neighbor. Lee contents himself with watering the flowers and helping out, and neighbors don't hesitate to call on him when some cowboy work is needed, but he avoids the public as much as possible.

Recently he made the move to Missouri.

In Lee's words: "There are two worlds; a real one made by God as a gift to those He loves, and a world of lies and deception made by men. I find wonder in the one and I hide from the other. I don't know any other way to keep my heart intact."

This explains why a painting can be so famous while its author remains so obscure.

Pictured, above left, is Lee with his horse, Ashley, on their homestead in Wyoming, where Lee and his family retreated - in part due to its dearth of people; it's one of our least populated states. To the right is one of his paintings, "A Perfect Day."