Spur c. 1940

Raymond E. Noble made this precise drawing of a spur with graphite and gray wash, sometime within his long lifetime, 1855 to 1955. Consider this tool, the spur, as an emblem of both human labor and control over animals. Spurs were particularly associated with the American West, evoking images of cowboys, cattle drives, and frontier life. The visual codes of Westerns in popular culture, like films and novels, often mythologize the cowboy as a rugged individualist. But it's important to remember that these figures were also participants in a complex economic system of land ownership and cattle ranching, and their labor was directly connected to the expansion of the United States and its impact on indigenous populations. Historical research, including studies of material culture, can reveal the complex social dynamics embedded in seemingly simple objects like this spur. Understanding its place in a broader historical narrative allows us to appreciate the artwork's cultural significance.