Myrtis Dightman, Bull Rider, Houston, Texas
Artist
Don Russell
(American, born 1953)
Date2016, printed 2017
Mediumdigital inkjet color print on paper
Dimensions22 × 17 inches (55.9 × 43.2 cm)
Image: 18 1/16 × 12 5/8 inches (45.9 × 32.1 cm)
Image: 18 1/16 × 12 5/8 inches (45.9 × 32.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of the artist, 2017
Object number2017.1.20
ClassificationsPhotographs
Label TextMyrtis Dightman is a Champion Bull Rider. He was the first African American to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo and has been named to The National Cowboy Hall of Fame among many other awards. Dightman grew up in Crockett, Texas. He said, “I started out fighting bulls. . . . A lot of places I’d go they didn’t have a clown. Once they found out I could clown they’d let me clown and they let me ride later. . . . I rode bulls for 28 years. . . . There were a bunch of rodeos down here in SE Texas. That’s what we did on Saturday and Sunday night. . . . You could win more money by going to the big rodeos, but you could have more fun at the Black rodeos because you knew everybody.”
ProvenanceArtist; gifted May 4, 2017 to the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art
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