When Duane and Orvileta West of Garden City, Kansas, first saw the unique and incredible art of Jessie Montes in 1993, they knew it was the work of a true genius! West, then a retired lawyer who was the chief prosecutor in the famous 1960 Clutter Murder case, was an artist and portraitist himself and recognized the use of cardboard as a totally new genre of art.

A native of Mexico, Jesus Manuel “Jessie” Montes was one of 25 children and the sole survivor of 5 sets of twins. He came to Dodge City, Kansas, in 1956, and became a citizen in 1972. With little education and no formal art training, Montes perfected his use of mainly discarded materials and was known as the “Corrugated Cardboard Man”!

Jessie Montes began producing 3-dimensional sculptures, landscapes, portraits and abstract design pieces, using ¼ strips of cardboard glued edgewise on a cardboard base in 1990. Acrylic paint is used on most of his pieces, providing vibrant, exciting art. 

In March 1998, the Wests purchased 17 two-dimensional and 8 three-dimensional pieces of Jessie’s art, and then became his agents, representing him until his death in 2013. Over the years, the West’s personal collection of Montes art grew to 43 pieces. 

In 2017, Duane and Orvileta gifted their 53 piece collection of Jessie Montes art to the Santa Fe Trail Council. The Executive Board of the Santa Fe Trail Council named the building the Duane and Orvileta West Council Service Center to honor their gift. The council has a gallery to display the collection which is open to the public during regular business hours.