For generations, the image of the American cowboy has been flattened into a familiar silhouette: a lone white rider crossing an endless Western landscape. The reality was always more complicated—and far more interesting. Black cowboys were part of the fabric of the West before the Civil War, working ranches, driving cattle, training horses, and shaping the traditions that would become central to America’s mythology.
Two exhibitions at the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers revisit and expand those narratives through the work of two Oklahoma-born artists: Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Ron Tarver and contemporary painter Robert Peterson. On view through August 30, “Black Cowboys in America: Photographs by Ron Tarver” and “Robert Peterson: Journeys” examine Black life, legacy, and self-representation through two very different lenses.
“Through stunning photography and portraiture, these exhibitions illuminate the depth and diversity of Black life across geographies and generations of the United States,” says Masha Turchinsky, the museum’s Anita K. Hersh Director and CEO. “They underscore the Hudson River Museum’s commitment to elevating underrepresented voices and broadening the narratives that shape our understanding of American art and culture.”
In “Black Cowboys in America,” Tarver presents more than 40 images from a photographic series he began in the 1990s while working as a photojournalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Traveling across the country, he documented Black ranchers, rodeo riders, horse trainers, urban cowboys, and communities preserving a heritage that was hiding in plain sight.
Tarver’s connection to the subject is personal. Raised in Oklahoma, he grew up around ranch culture—his grandfather was a cowboy—and worked on farms as a teenager. His photographs balance documentary realism with the romance and visual power long associated with Western imagery: riders at work, moments of quiet connection between people and horses, and portraits that challenge who gets included in the American story.
“This project has allowed me to reflect on my personal heritage of growing up in the West,” Tarver says. “While I do not consider myself a cowboy, I have a deep respect and admiration for those in the Black community who live out their western heritage every day.”
Peterson’s “Journeys” continues that conversation through large-scale oil paintings that transform everyday people into monumental figures. His portraits—of family members, friends, and community members—draw from classical traditions while centering contemporary Black experience. His figures appear confident, reflective, and fully present, rendered with rich color and meticulous attention to the tones and textures of skin.
“My work begins with a desire to honor people I know and the experiences that have shaped me,” Peterson says. “Through these portraits, I’m exploring what it means to be seen, to carry strength quietly, and to exist with dignity in a world that doesn’t always make space for it.”
The two exhibitions form a natural dialogue. Tarver looks outward, documenting a community whose history has been overlooked; Peterson looks inward, building images rooted in memory, family, and personal connection. Together, they offer a broader vision of American identity—one where cowboys, caretakers, artists, parents, and dreamers all belong in the frame.
“Black Cowboys in America: Photographs by Ron Tarver” and “Robert Peterson: Journeys” are on view at the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers through August 30. The museum will host “Artist Tour and Talk with Ron Tarver and Robert Peterson: Cowboy Culture and the Human-Horse Connection” on July 18 at 2pm, followed by portraiture workshops with both artists on July 19.
The Hudson River Museum is located at 511 Warburton Avenue in Yonkers. Museum hours are Wednesday to Friday, 12-5pm, Saturday and Sunday, 11am-5pm.
