Untitled (portrait of young boy dressed as cowboy standing in front of lattice) c. 1940

Paul Gittings made this silver gelatin print, called “Untitled (portrait of young boy dressed as cowboy standing in front of lattice),” without a known date. The image presents a dressed up child in front of a constructed set. The American West has long captured imaginations. From dime novels and Wild West shows to Hollywood films and TV series, the cowboy is an enduring figure in American culture. He embodies ideals of rugged individualism, self-reliance, and frontier justice. As such, the romanticized cowboy is a potent symbol in American political discourse, often associated with conservative values. But it is also a symbol of masculinity and this image speaks to the ways in which boys are encouraged to perform idealized versions of masculine behavior. What does it mean to participate in the symbolic language of American politics and culture? To understand this image better, we might research the history of Westerns in American film and television, and the ways the cowboy has been used in political campaigns.