West: The American Cowboy by Anouk Krantz

Not your first rodeo? A lush new monograph of the modern American West begs to differ.

 Written by Jenn Thornton

 John Wayne was always one to grab the bulls by the horns. As do the wranglers photographed in West: The American Cowboy, the forthcoming new book that reframes contemporary ranch culture. The book’s black and white portraits, which range from rodeos and wranglers to open skies and dramatic flatlands, have a cinematic quality that evokes a lodestar of American life: the Wild West. One can’t help but imagine how intrepid auteur Anouk Masson Krantz might have photographed Duke in his day, being as he was, most home on the range (and obviously comfortable with the camera): with hat, horse and bandana to boot.

Buy now on Amazon. Proceeds benefit the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.