Starting with the development of the American West by European settlers, and their Manifest Destiny theory, the narratives that painters often conflict. From early paintins and dime magazines, the mythology of the heroic cowboy and the hostile Indian nation was perpetuated. It wasn't until the 1960s that young Indigenous American painters started to question the tradtiional narrative and explore other voices. At this same time, Richard Prince's controversial Cowboy paintings, based on sampled photographs from Marlboro ad campaigns and pulp magazine cover art, re-introduced the cowboy as hero theme. Today, painters like Jane-Quick-To-See Smith and Princess Wendy Red Star are making paintings and art that is their own voice.

image: Wendy Red Star, Her Dreams Are True 2020