The Archetypal Cowboy - Artwork Worksheet

1. Individual work.

Focus on the document in "The Archetypal Cowboy Artwork" your teacher assigned you: they are either from F. Remington (documents 1 or 2), or from C. Russell (documents 3 or 4).

a. First, situate on the 1912 map "Westward Expansion" the states where your artist was born and where he died. 

b. Then, pay attention to the physical appearance of the men represented in the artwork, their "accessories", their attitudes, their surroundings, and the values they symbolize.

Remember the vocabulary you learnt in the "Get on Board" activities and justify your viewpoint with specific details.

2. Pairwork

a.  Discuss your viewpoint with another student who was assigned the same document.

b.  Talk together to decide if you think your documents represent an archetypal cowboy and justify your answer.

c. Prepare your notes to be ready to explain your artwork to the other students and say if it represents the archetypal American Cowboy.

3. In groups of 6 students (each student has studied a different document). 

a. Present your document to the members of your group and listen to the other presentations. Take notes in the table below which you can copy in your notebook, fill in online or download.

b. What common points can you find among all these cowboys? 

c. Use the elements in the table to deduce how the people who lived in the West were considered and depicted. You can use what you know now about Westward Expansion.

d. Then, as a group, decide which work of art symbolises best the archetypal American Cowboy. All the members of your group must be ready to explain your choice to the rest of the class.

4. Whole class work.

Explain the choice you made, as a group, in Activity 3.d.