Jay Dusard: Legendary Cowboy Photographer - Epi. 176, Host Dr. Mark Sublette

Updated: 9/23/2025The beauty of what I do for a living is that I get to meet people like Jay Dusard. You see, I've been doing these podcasts for eight years, and part of the reason I do them is that I want to capture these important voices in the arts. Unfortunately, when you do this as long as I have, you have individuals that pass and Dusard, who was 88, recently passed. Jay was a wonderful, interesting individual. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1981 and did a book called The North American Cowboy: A Portrait  that came out in 1983. He saw the West through unfiltered eyes and I remember meeting him for the first time, and I took a picture of his hands. They were just these rough hands. You could tell he had lived a life, you know, before he was even a photographer. In November of 2021 we recorded this podcast with him. Now, 4 years later, the legendary cowboy photographer is gone, but his legacy remains. I'm airing this podcast again because I want people go and experience the story behind such an interesting, important artist. *****Today's guest on the podcast was Jay Dusard. He's one of the best known Western photographers of the 20th century (not to mention a Guggenheim scholar winner) who I've known for  quite a long time. I've had the pleasure of seeing his work in numerous museum shows spanning several decades and I was really thrilled that he took the time and effort to come down and join us for an episode of Art Dealer Diaries.Jay's book "The North American Cowboy: A Portrait," released in 1983, showed the life of the cowboy and cowgirl that was not only artistic, but earnest as well. A level of representation achieved by someone that was a real life cowboy for many, many years. That's one of the ways that Jay was able to capture the images he's known for. When you look at the individuals in his photographs, the unfiltered cowboy lifestyle pours through the lens of someone that was able to not only relate, but more importantly translate that very sensibility into black and white photographs.We discuss Jay's career as well as his early life as a prospective architect. The discussion also covers where the art of photography is headed now that everyone carries a capable imaging device in the form of a cell phone.So please enjoy. Jay Dusard on Art Dealer Diaries #176.

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