1959.35.10 Erwin E. Smith, Four Cowpunchers Shooting Craps on a Saddle Blanket in Roundup Camp, JA Ranch, Texas

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The cowpuncher’s job was tedious and difficult. Here four men play craps in an effort to unwind at the end of the day. Dressed in shabby, ill-fitting clothes, the men sit on what appears to be someone’s bed, the pillow shoved to the side. Blankets litter the campground as dusk begins to fall, the chuck wagon barely visible in the background. Even with the atmospheric effect of soft white light, Erwin E. Smith manages to capture the harsh reality of a looming cold night spent on the hard ground with little protection from the elements.

Smith knew at a very early age that he wanted to be a cowboy and an artist; he spent summers as a working cowboy on his uncle’s ranch near Quanah, Texas, acquiring the necessary skills. The film industry was just beginning its portrayal of the romantic, yet storybook, image of the cowboy, and as an artist dedicated to preserving the cowboys’ way of life Smith vowed to represent that life as accurately as possible. Unlike their fictional counterparts, many of the early cowboys were overburdened, illiterate, inexperienced laborers, and at least a third were Hispanic or African American.

Excerpt from

DMA label copy, 2009.

NOTES

Created 1908

General Description: (from Dropbox no author November 2009, on the range, holly harrison???)

Rebecca Singerman worked on this note.

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Smith, Erwin E. (American, 1883-1947)

Cultures

Geography

Depicted location and place of origin: Amarillo (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013299

Process/materials

Gelatin dry plate negative

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE

From 1959: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

Handbook of Texas Online~Read a biography of Erwin Evans Smith from the Texas State Historical Association.
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth~Learn more about Erwin E. Smith from the Amon Carter.
ranches.org~Learn more about the JA Ranch and Montie Ritchie.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

“Cowpuncher” is southwestern term for a cowboy.

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES

Apply to objects where number equals 1959.35.10

General Description

The cowpuncher’s job was tedious and difficult. Here four men play craps in an effort to unwind at the end of the day. Dressed in shabby, ill-fitting clothes, the men sit on what appears to be someone’s bed, the pillow shoved to the side. Blankets litter the campground as dusk begins to fall, the chuck wagon barely visible in the background. Even with the atmospheric effect of soft white light, Erwin E. Smith manages to capture the harsh reality of a looming cold night spent on the hard ground with little protection from the elements.

Smith knew at a very early age that he wanted to be a cowboy and an artist; he spent summers as a working cowboy on his uncle’s ranch near Quanah, Texas, acquiring the necessary skills. The film industry was just beginning its portrayal of the romantic, yet storybook, image of the cowboy, and as an artist dedicated to preserving the cowboys’ way of life Smith vowed to represent that life as accurately as possible. Unlike their fictional counterparts, many of the early cowboys were overburdened, illiterate, inexperienced laborers, and at least a third were Hispanic or African American.