Artwork  >  , , >  Don’t You Boys Know Gamblin’s a Sin?

Don't You Boys Know Gamblin's a Sin? Is a sculpture by Scott Rogers of a camp cook talking to 3 men playing poker

Don’t You Boys Know Gamblin’s a Sin?

Specifications:
18 1/2″H 22″W 19″D
Edition of 30

Price:
$9,000

Scott’s Piece Description

This crusty cook’s been there. He’s thrown down a thousand blankets to while away the time. He’s just ribbing the boys. Nothing he says is gonna change their behavior…he knows that going in. Just funnin’ – and in his salty way lets them know he’s been around.

Gambling was rampant in the old West. Horses, wives, saddles, entire outfits often ended up on the ‘gambling blanket’. All risked on the turn of a card or game of chance.

What is gamblin’? Is it wanting something for nothing? Or, is it more than that? Is it “risk”, buying into an illusion of false hope or living life as a wish?

Ever put a quarter in a slot hoping for the big payoff. Or bought a lottery ticket hoping for the millions to rain down. Here is something to ponder….’What if the millions did come?” Does it do anything…really? Or does it just prolong the inevitable crash and back to earth reality of ‘before’?

Something whispers to me that the reason we are not to covet ‘it’…. is that we couldn’t handle ‘it’ if ‘it’ did come. Else wise we’d already have ‘it’. Is it possible that we have what we have because of who we are?

Curator Review

This sculpture vibrates with character and commentary. Scott Rogers crafts a scene that’s both lively and reflective, pulling viewers into a moment rich with camaraderie, dry wit, and a quietly philosophical undertone. The rotund cook, ladle in hand, presides over a group of card players sprawled around a campfire, their body language animated with mid-game tension and amusement.

It’s a humorous tableau, but beneath the chuckles lies something deeper: a meditation on human nature and the allure of chance. Rogers captures not just the historic prevalence of gambling in the American West, but its enduring symbolic weight—hope, risk, and the universal temptation to shortcut life’s lessons.

The textured modeling, especially in the cook’s belly and the men’s exaggerated expressions, invites laughter, while the title delivers the punchline. Rogers balances storytelling and sculptural form with a deftness reminiscent of Frederic Remington, yet with a uniquely introspective voice.

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