Return to the romance of the West

It’s been many years since I rode with the wind imagining our living room ottoman to be my trusted steed. Growing up a city girl, my favorite childhood programs were Roy Rogers, Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Rawhide, The Lone Ranger and Death Valley Days, to name a few.

Most had faded in my memory until my move to Texas, and discovery of the Cowboy Artists of America Museum — now called The Museum of Western Art, Kerrville.

It was during the late 19th and early 20th centuries that the Cowboy persona inspired this nation’s film producers, novelists, songwriters and artists. The character of the Cowboy was used to glorify the American West and romanticize the Cowboy by casting him as the incarnation of American values.