The Remuda By Ray Swanson

(1937 – 2004); oil on board, 24” x 36”. Quote from our German collector, "This piece was commissioned by Anheuser Busch in the 80’s. The world’s largest brewery, Anheuser Busch wanted to launch Budweiser in the German market. August Busch III wanted very much to launch American beer in Germany, no matter how much it would cost. By law, it was not allowed either to import the original beer or to use the name Budweiser in Germany. Therefore, a joint venture was started with the brewery Berliner Kindl, located in Berlin. The product was named Anheuser Busch and was brewed in Germany under the regulations of German law. “Not to throw money out of the window, it was decided to start only on a test market. A test market was scheduled for a limited six months in Berlin. We did billboard advertising, posters, and advertisements in the daily newspaper. A bar restaurant was equipped in the Western style. We used promotion on cars…after commissioning the Ray Swanson painting, it was not exactly what we wanted, so we retained Don Kueker to paint a similar painting in a vertical format. We used this painting for our promotions and hung the Ray Swanson in the office. Coming to the end, the whole story was not successful. German beer drinkers didn’t like the beer. The main reason was that beer in Germany is a very, very traditional and local matter.” First time offered.