OW2C – or OW quarter circle 2C – was an icon used by Olaf Wieghorst in his art. It combined the initials of his name with the cattle brand of the Cunningham Ranch.

The Story

After his discharge from the United States Cavalry in 1922 at Douglas, Arizona, Olaf Wieghorst bought a horse and rode north. From central Arizona he turned east into New Mexico. While camped near the small town of Alma, New Mexico, he met rancher Elton Cunningham. Cunningham was looking for a hired hand.

It was Olaf’s chance to be a working cowboy. The Cunningham Ranch had cattle and horses! Olaf took the job. The ranch’s cattle brand was a “quarter circle” mark over a “2C”.

In his early years, Olaf signed his paintings in a variety of ways often some variation of “O-Wieghorst.” His etchings were found with a “W” encircled by a larger “O”, making the initials of his name. He later began incorporating the quarter circle 2C into his signature and by his El Cajon days, it appeared on most of his paintings.

In El Cajon, Olaf fashioned a real branding iron with the “OW(2C” or “OW2C” brand and used it to burn the mark into wood for decoration and conversation. For a time it  was the trademark of O. W. Productions, a company organized to market Wieghorst art.

Today the “OW2C” brand is the logo and trademark of the Olaf Wieghorst Museum.