1933 Jo Mora Cowboy Life Rodeo Poster

Considered Jo Mora's most iconic image, this is the 1939 'Evolution of the Cowboy.' The image celebrates all things cowboy, from the rodeo to saddles, steers, and chuckwagons. It is worth noting that Mora became a cowboy himself, and his depictions of cowboy life and culture exhibit realism based on experience.

A Closer Look

This vibrant poster offers a visual exploration of the history and culture of the North American cowboy. At its heart is a lively rodeo scene, rendered in Mora's cartoon style, surrounded by more naturalistic depictions of cowboys from various regions and periods. These vignettes highlight different riding and roping techniques and cowboy gear, including saddles, stirrups, and spurs, each accompanied by descriptions. A frieze across the top traces the cowboy's evolution from 16th-century Spanish conquistadors to contemporary ranch hands. Overseeing the scene is the 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo,' enclosed in a heart-shaped frame (this part of the image was later reused as the cover art for The Byrds' 1968 album of that title).

Mora the Cowboy

Mora had a lifelong interest in cowboys and even became one himself. According to the Quarterly Bulletin of the Monterey History and Art Association devoted to Mora's life and works:

Fascinated by the Texas cowboys and the California vaqueros, sharing their Hispanic roots, and aware that they, too, were an imperiled species, the young Jo Mora succeeded in becoming one of them. His acute observation of their way of life subsequently enabled him to replicate cowboy costumes, techniques, and equipment with unrivaled accuracy - whether in sculpture, two-dimensional works on paper, or in the greatly admired books he wrote towards the end of his life, Trail Dust and Saddle Leather [1946] and Californios: The Saga of the Hard-Riding Vaqueros, America's First Cowboys [1949].

Publication History and Census

This image was initially produced by Jo Mora in 1933 to promote the Salinas Rodeo. This present example in the 1939 second edition, in which the scene to either side of the 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' is changed from a map of the Salinas Rodeo Complex to silhouettes of cowboys on horseback and a chuckwagon. This 1939 second edition was issued by 'Jo Mora Maps' of Carmel, California. It was reissued in 1941 on glossy paper by Jo Mora Publications, based in Monterey. In the 1950s, it was licensed to Levi Strauss and Company and the Beef Council.