Rough Riders from the series History

Media - 2017.41.30 - SAAM-2017.41.30_1 - 134093
Copied David Levinthal, Rough Riders from the series History, 2014, inkjet print, 17 × 22 in. (43.2 × 55.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Donald Standford Rosenfeld, Jr., 2017.41.30, © 2014, David Levinthal

Artwork Details

Title
Rough Riders from the series History
Artist
Date
2014
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
17 × 22 in. (43.2 × 55.9 cm)
Copyright
© 2014, David Levinthal
Credit Line
Gift of Donald Standford Rosenfeld, Jr.
Mediums Description
inkjet print
Classifications
Keywords
  • History — United States — Spanish American War
  • Architecture Exterior — military — battlefield
  • Object — weapon — gun
  • Equestrian
  • Dress — uniform — military uniform
  • Figure group — male
  • Occupation — military — soldier
Object Number
2017.41.30
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2017.41.30

Artwork Description

Rough Riders was the nickname given to a unit of cavalry volunteers recruited by Colonel Theodore Roosevelt in 1898 to fight in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Comprising a diverse group of Western riflemen, Ivy League athletes, Texas Rangers, and Native Americans, they became instantly famous--symbols of a new American masculine ideal rooted in the West. Roosevelt cultivated this image through written accounts of the group's triumphs and defeats, which helped to enhance his own carefully crafted personal mythology. Although not represented in Levinthal's photograph, Roosevelt became synonymous with the Rough Riders and celebrated as the ultimate cowboy-soldier-statesman icon

Exhibitions

Media - 2017.32.10 - SAAM-2017.32.10_1 - 133751
American Myth & Memory: David Levinthal Photographs 
June 7, 2019–October 14, 2019
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Populated with toy cowboys and cavalry, Barbie dolls and baseball players, David Levinthal’s photographs reference iconic images and events that shaped postwar American society. Despite their playful veneer, Levinthal’s images provide a lens through which to examine the myths and stereotypes lurking within our most beloved pastimes and enduring heroes. In doing so, Levinthal encourages us to consider the stories we tell about ourselves—what it means to be strong, beautiful, masculine, feminine, and ultimately, American.