Existing comment:
Untitled, from the series Wild West
1989 Polaroid Polacolor ER Land Film
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of an anonymous donor 2018.3.190
The myth of the American cowboy is as pervasive and popular as the myth of the Wild West, and both are an integral part of American identity. The cowboy of legend wandered the open range with nothing other than a loyal steed and a sidearm. He was honest, brave, self-made, and self-reliant. As such, he became a symbol of core American values. The invention of the cowboy hero emerged as the Western frontier was still being settled. One hundred and fifty years later, he exists in American culture much like in Levinthal's photographs -- a carefully constructed fictional figure who is often mistaken as real. |