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The series was created following a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C, where he took polaroid photographs of the artefacts he encountered.

Three of the works in this series depict sacred indigenous objects deriving from various locations. Each object is intertwined with stories and traditions which are integral to the history of a particular tribe: the Kachina Dolls depict a matriarchal spirit, Tumas, a revered figure in Hopi mythology (the Hopi is a matrilineal tribe originating from Arizona). The Plains Indian Shield depicts a Crow Tribe shield, originating from the upper Missouri River, while the Northwest Coast Mask is a ceremonial mask featuring Sisiutl, a two-headed sea serpent associated with the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) people of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

Other sources include old black-and-white photos of historical figures or, in the case of Mother and Child, a postcard. This vintage source imagery is injected with the vivid colours of Pop art to capture the iconography and mythology of the American West.

Warhol’s house in New York was filled with Navajo blankets, jewellery and masks, while photographs of native tribes by renowned American photographer Edward S. Curtis adorned the walls. Warhol possessed many of the same or similar artefacts that he chose to depict in the Cowboys and Indians series. Following the artist’s death in 1987, a ten-day auction of Warhol’s possessions was held to benefit The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Among these, several examples of Hopi Kachina Dolls are recorded as are some Plains ceremonial dance shields and an assortment of wooden ceremonial face masks from the Northwest coast of America and Canada.

In January 1968, Warhol wrote and directed an experimental film which was a parody of the Western genre, called Lonesome Cowboys. It was a subversive film whichcontained so much ‘obscene material’ that it was investigated by the FBI. Warhol’s interest in the representation of cowboys in popular culture was longstanding, dating back to his iconic 1963 painting of Elvis Presley depicted as a gunslinging cowboy.   

The inclusion of John Wayne, the star of Western movies, in the Cowboys and Indians series draws attention to the tendency to romanticise the ‘Wild West’ in popular culture. Warhol used Wayne’s publicity still for his film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), directed by John Ford. The Apache leader Geronimo is also featured in Ford’s 1939 film Stagecoach, where he is cast as a caricatured villain. It is not insignificant that Warhol used an archival photograph of the real Geronimo for his portrait of him in this series; contrary to the popular caricature, Warhol represents him as a historical figure, not unlike Teddy Roosevelt or General Custer who are also represented in this series. In doing so, Warhol subtly challenges the negative stereotypes surrounding Native Americans that are rooted in America’s colonial past and perpetuated by Hollywood.

This portfolio not only served as a commentary on the depiction of indigenous people in popular culture, but it is also significant that throughout the 1980s, political activism had increased among the Native American community. Concurrent with the Civil Rights Movement, the American Indian Movement (AIM) was involved in several highly publicised protests, demanding economic independence, revitalisation of traditional culture, protection of legal rights, and autonomy of tribal areas and restoration of sacred land. Although Warhol’s portfolio doesn’t explicitly support or oppose Native American causes, its production within this political context was deliberate, encouraging the viewer to reflect on these issues that were constantly being addressed in the media at the time.

Cowboys and Indians explores themes of celebrity, cinema and, like so many of his most iconic pieces, contains subject matter that is charged with social and political connotations. To a great extent, Cowboys and Indians is typical of the artist. Many of Warhol’s most famous works are portraits of individuals that have had a major impact on American culture such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley; in this series, he portrays the movie star John Wayne and iconic historical figures such as President Theodore Roosevelt and General Custor. Similarly, the political component of the Cowboys and Indians series echoes his decision to portray Chairmen Mao and create a Hammer and Sickle series. However, this portfolio may be more politically and socially complex than any in Warhol’s oeuvre. Through the representation of artefacts, historical figures, fictional characters and real native Americans, the artist conflates the Hollywood myth with historical conflicts and the everyday reality of the indigenous people of North America.

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