Where the Trail Forks

Copied Harry Jackson, Where the Trail Forks, 1964, bronze, 19 1⁄4 x 7 x 5 1⁄2 in. (49.0 x 17.9 x 14.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Moore, 1981.122

Artwork Details

Title
Where the Trail Forks
Artist
Date
1964
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
19 1⁄4 x 7 x 5 1⁄2 in. (49.0 x 17.9 x 14.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Moore
Mediums
Mediums Description
bronze
Classifications
Subjects
  • Dress — accessory — hat
  • Figure male — full length
  • Occupation — other — cowboy
Object Number
1981.122
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1981.122

Artwork Description

“The West inspires my life,” Harry Jackson said, and Trail Boss and Where the Trail Forks are two of his many bronzes of the subject. When Jackson was a child in Chicago, his mother worked as a waitress near the stockyards, where cowboys and cattle traders gathered and told tales of the Old West. He wanted to present cowboys as realistically as possible, and liked “taking something that [movies] have made saccharine and making it real again.” (Janet Wilson, ARTnews, December 1978; Time, May 30, 1960)