Beyond Cowboys & Indians: Art of the Western United States

My first idea of romance may have been seeing Roy Rogers kiss his horse Trigger. Certainly, I, too, was in love with that beautiful and talented steed.

What the Mighty Colorado Hath Wrought, Stephen C. Datz, 2015

Roy Rogers and Trigger

I was born in California in a time when iconic Western movies featuring cowboys and Indians were routinely box-office hits. I have lived most of my life in the western part of the United States and seen the visual art produced by artists living and working west of the Mississippi expand to include so much more than legendary stories of cowboy life and the challenges of settling the great frontier.

I've seen development affect how people are living, changes in agricultural practices, and watched the cultural scene become wonderfully textured. An unbiased look at the diverse, high-quality artwork that continues in this region evidences how the genre has broadened, evolved, incorporated and rewritten a hidebound history into a free-ranging, wide-open modern story.

Traditional subject matter has become more inclusive, showing the important roles women and people of color played in our history, and works featuring today's cultural experiences are often expressed in a full range of styles from representational to abstract. Beyond the continued fascination with our magnificent natural landscapes (as so masterfully portrayed above and below by Stephen C. Datz) and abundant wildlife, urban scenes bring a new kind of vitality to the genre.

Rising out of a panel discussion about what constitutes the genre of “Western Art,” this article, published in Western Art & Architecture magazine introduces readers to how things have changed. # # # 

Heart of Fire, Stephen C. Datz, 2015