Three Cowpunchers
Date1921
Artist
Frank Earle Schoonover
(American illustrator and painter, 1877–1972)
Illustration CitationFrontispiece for The Bar-20 Three, by Clarence E. Mulford (New York: A. L. Burt Company, 1921)
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions35 3/4 x 24 1/2 in. (90.8 x 62.2 cm)
frame: 39 × 27 1/2 in. (99.1 × 69.9 cm)
frame: 39 × 27 1/2 in. (99.1 × 69.9 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Joseph Bancroft, 1942
Object number1942-14
On View
On viewClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextFrank Schoonover was sought after to illustrate outdoor adventures in the West and Northwest. Clarence Mulford's novel revolves around Hopalong Cassidy and his fellow cowpunchers, on the lookout here for missing cattle near the town of Mesquite, Texas. The arid ground and unrelenting sun suggest the arduous life of the cowboy. The "Western" is a literary genre that gained popularity at the turn of the 20th century as the hardship and violence of Euro-American settlement faded into a romanticized past full of mythic and heroic figures. The genre soon became a cross-cultural phenomenon. The Great Train Robbery, considered by many to be the first Western film, debuted in 1903. Mulford published his first Hopalong Cassidy story in 1904 and his last in 1941. His lead character was rough, hard-drinking, and coarse. The author strenuously objected in 1935 when the first of many Cassidy films portrayed the cowboy as handsome and virtuous. Eventually Mulford accepted the Hollywood version and became friendly with the star William Boyd.
