An Important Legacy

Archival photographs and contemporary artwork tell a broader, more inclusive story of the Southwest at the Harwood Museum of Art.

While African Americans have always been an immensely important part of the history of the Southwest, they’ve often been excluded from the story. An upcoming exhibition at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico, strives to change this narrative by directing attention toward the presence and contributions of Black artists through historical photographs dating as far back as the late 1800s, all the way up to contemporary artwork being created today. Erwin E. Smith (1886-1947), African-American Cowboys with Their Mounts Saddled Up..., ca. 1911-1915, photographic print. Erwin E. Smith Collection of the Library of Congress on Deposit at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas.

“Outriders: Legacy of the Black Cowboy gives space and voice to a critical yet undervalued part of American history—the cattle drivers, riders and ropers of African ancestry who helped develop the West,” says Nicole Dial-Kay, curator of exhibitions and collections at the Harwood Museum of Art. “It’s estimated that of the 35,000 cowboys working ranches and riding trails between 1866 and 1895, as many as one in four cowboys was Black. In Outriders: Legacy of the Black Cowboy we knew we needed to highlight the personal stories behind that statistic. To accomplish this, we dove deep into archives across the country, securing images of Black cowboys, rodeo riders and camp workers [from a variety of institutions across the country].” Black cowboy and horse, ca. 1890-1920, photographic print. Denver Public Library Special Collections, X-21563.

Dial-Kay explains that the exhibition is divided into two sections, a balance between history and modern-day. The first gallery explores historical narratives told through archival photographs capturing the life and work of Black cowhands from immediately before the Civil War through the turn of the 20th-century. “The second [gallery] is comprised of contemporary responses from seven internationally recognized artists…who are each exploring the Black cowboy legacy from their own perspectives,” she says. Among them are Kennedi Carter, Praise Fuller, Alexander Harrison, Ivan B. McClellan, Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, Ron Tarver and Nate Young. Ivan B. McClellan, Kortnee Solomon, Hempstead, Texas, photographic print, 29 x 38”. Courtesy of Ivan B. McClellan.

She continues, “Bridging historical truth and contemporary interpretation, this exhibition calls us to recognize Black cowboys and cowgirls as real, alive, visible and central to the legacy of an American icon.”

Throughout the development of Outriders, an exhibitions committee made up of individuals with expertise in the field provided important insight and oversight. This committee included artist Nikesha Breeze; Larry Callies, founder of the Black Cowboy Museum; Rita Powdrell, director of the African American Museum and Cultural Center of New Mexico; and Daphne Rice-Allen, board chair for the Black American West Museum & Heritage Center. “Each participant in the committee was crucial in helping us develop the narratives, stories and family legacies we shared within the exhibition,” Dial-Kay adds. Alexander Harrison, Beyond the Horizon, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 47½ x 47½”. Courtesy of Private Collection, LA. Image courtesy the artist and Kasmin Gallery.Outriders: Legacy of the Black Cowboy will be on view in the Harwood’s Mandelman-Ribak, Ellis-Lee and Foster Galleries through May 7, 2023. A public opening in conjunction with William Herbert “Buck” Dunton: A Mainer Goes West took place in October. —

Outriders: Legacy of the Black Cowboy
Through May 7, 2023
Harwood Museum of Art, 238 Ledoux Street, Taos, NM 87571
(575) 758-9826, www.harwoodmuseum.org