Dixon was born in Fresno, California, of Virginian parents in 1875. His childhood was spent on the San Joaquin plains. When 16 he sent his sketch book to Frederic Remington who returned it with a letter of encouragement and advice. He began his career as a newspaper and magazine illustrator, using the money he earned to take extensive trips into Mexico, New Mexico, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. He lived for long periods in the open on casual terms with Native Americans, ranchers, cowboys, Latinos, and old timers.
Since 1920 he has never left the west, except for two New York exhibitions and a brief trip to Washington. It was not until 1920, however, that he essayed to become a full fledged painter. Dixon's first mural was painted for the Southern Pacific railroad depot in Tucson. Just before his death he completed a large mural of the Grand Canyon for the Santa Fe railroad station in Los Angeles.
