Jane Hilton: Dead Eagle Trail: America's Twenty-First Century Cowboys - Tapa dura

Jane Hiltons first visit to North America was to Arizona in 1988. The enormous wide-open spaces, desert highways, and vast skies were the biggest contrast she had ever experienced to growing up in suburban England. This, combined with the warm memories of spending Sunday afternoons watching westerns with her father has contributed to Hiltons affection for the wild west. There is definitely a romanticism that is associated with the gunslinging cowboy, defending his land and his moral code. These displays of heroism have been reinforced in novels such as Owen Wisters The Virginian (1902), and films such as John Fords Stagecoach (1939), with the iconic John Wayne. American culture has been defined by the west, and the American Dream evolved from it. The pioneering days of the gold rush and the evolution of towns such as Las Vegas illustrate the mantra of the people; anything is possible in America. Dead Eagle Trail is a culmination of numerous road trips Jane Hilton has taken across the States whilst documenting the American culture. This book is a celebration of the west, from the buckaroos of Nevada to the cowpunchers of Arizona. Cowboys are photographed in their own homes, surrounded by western artifacts. The need to hold onto their heritage is clearly visible. As the price of petrol and animal feed rises, the ranches struggle to survive and the cowboy of the twenty-first century could become extinct.

Over the last twenty years photographer and filmmaker Jane Hilton has documented many different facets of American Culture, from legalized prostitution to the marriage culture of Las Vegas, resulting in a series of exhibitions, publications and a ten-part documentary series for the BBC, The Brothel/Love For Sale. Growing up in suburban England, in contrast to the wide-open spaces of America, and spending Sunday afternoons watching Westerns with her dad, has contributed to Hilton's affection for the Wild West. Dead Eagle Trail is a celebration of the west, from the buckaroos of Nevada to the cowpunchers of Arizona. Hilton has photographed cowboys in their own homes, surrounded by western artefacts, revealing their obsession with the lifestyle. Not only is their need to hold onto their heritage clearly visible, but in less familiar territory their softer, possibly more feminine side is also exposed. As the price of petrol and animal feed rises, the ranches struggle to survive and the lifestyle of the cowboy of the twenty-first century is threatened. Jane Hilton lives in London. Her work is regularly published in the Saturday Telegraph Magazine and the Sunday Times Magazine. www.janehilton.com www.schiltpublishing.com