Untitled ("Custer's Last Fight" poster on wall above men's room) 1946

Curator: Here we have Jack Gould's photograph, "Untitled ('Custer's Last Fight' poster on wall above men's room)." The image itself is rather small, roughly 4x5 inches. Editor: There's a bleak humor to it, I think. It's dominated by a framed print depicting Custer's Last Stand, hung above what seems to be a men's room entrance. Curator: The image, beyond its photographic qualities, presents interesting layers of context. Custer's Last Stand was frequently reproduced and commodified. Anheuser-Busch even used it in advertising campaigns. Editor: Precisely. This image captures how historical narratives become embedded in everyday spaces and mass culture. It reflects anxieties about masculinity, defeat, and the American West circulated through something as mundane as bathroom decor. Curator: The photograph draws attention to the role imagery plays within social structures and commercial endeavors. Editor: It certainly encourages us to consider the unexpected places where history and popular imagination collide.