Untitled (portrait of young boy dressed as cowboy, seated with bent knee) c. 1940

This photograph, taken by Paul Gittings, presents a young boy dressed as a cowboy, an emblem of the American West. The cowboy figure is rich with symbols, evoking notions of freedom, adventure, and rugged individualism. We see echoes of the ancient Centaur, a hybrid creature embodying man's connection to nature, or even the wandering herdsman of the Old Testament. These archetypes resonate through the ages, manifesting in this modern, American form. The boy’s costume is particularly evocative. Consider the hat, a symbol of authority and protection, yet here, adorning a child, it speaks to aspiration and play. Like the medieval knight’s armor reduced to a child’s toy, the cowboy’s attire carries with it the weight of history, reimagined through the lens of youth. Such images tap into our collective unconscious, where symbols intertwine and evolve, echoing across time.