The mural is a snapshot of the life of ‘Bobby Cozad' (later known as Robert Henri) during the time that he lived in Nebraska, with metaphors and symbolism sprinkled in.
I decided to add grazing cows to the mural because of the importance of the conflict that caused the Cozad family to leave Nebraska. Cattlemen were used to moving their vast herds of cattle across the plains, and when land was homesteaded and settled by farmers disputes erupted. Cowboys drove cattle across the claimed land and sometimes cut fences down. The tension between John Cozad and the cattlemen culminated in Cozad shooting and killing one of them. He and his family and fled, changing their names, identities, and ultimately their futures.
The following are a few passages about a confrontation a few years before the fateful incident, from young Robert Cozad’s 1880 diary when he was 15 years old.
September 20, 1880
“When pa rode up he told the man that these cattle must be drove off. the man acted impudent and then the Boss Herder rode up and pa told him that he must move off immediately. the boss said that he was going to do so but showed no signs of doing it. Pa then commenced divin the cattle himself”
“After the herders had prevented the cattle from making a stampede, the 1st herder came toward us as we thought to make a fuss. He rode up by us and said something—in a serly [sic] manner—about his bosses being a gentlemen, and then commenced in a bullying talk. Pa told him that he wanted nothing to say to him, but if his boss had anything to say let him come on and say it. The man grumbled and muttered, and acted very bad.”
Studies of cows before I start painting.
In the mural a cut fence is depicted with cows grazing peacefully on either side of it. The brewing storm in the background foreshadows how Robert’s life was soon to change.
Detail of the cows and cut fence in the painting.