Cowboy 61, a large-scale hyperrealistic oil on canvas by Hannes Schmid from 2011, immerses viewers in the rugged spirit of the American West. The painting captures a cowboy riding a horse through a river, leading a group of other unsaddled horses at a gallop. Lasso clutched in a raised hand, the man exudes masculinity and a spirited sense of freedom. Schmid’s masterful manipulation of glancing light and deep shadows heightens the drama of this dynamic scene.  

Schmid gained fame as one of the last key commercial photographers behind the Marlboro Man campaign. The Philip Morris campaign ran from 1954 to 1999 and transformed a struggling women’s brand into a symbol of rugged independence, and Marlboro became the top-selling cigarette in the U.S. Schmid’s images, portraying handsome cowboys in expansive landscapes, later entered the art world when Richard Prince appropriated them for his renowned “Cowboys” series starting in the early 1980s. Rather than pursuing legal action like some of the other photographers involved in the campaign, Schmid embarked on his own reappropriation project, creating large photorealistic paintings of his original photographs from the 90s. This act not only responds to Prince’s borrowings but also reclaims the work from Philip Morris, as the photos were work-for-hire and legally belonged to the company. Prince’s alterations partially detached the images from their commercial contexts, making them more generic, more universal. Schmid’s intervention, through his paintings, adds another layer of complexity to the evolving story of these original images. Both artists, Schmid and Prince, become agents in both the mythic and matter-of-fact operations of commerce and art.  

 As Schmid reflects on his American Myths series: "Sometime in the early 1990s, I became acquainted with the world of Marlboro. The vast Western plains and the authentic drive of the cowboys with their herds inspired me to capture some of their most amazing moments in their folkloric tradition for almost a decade. The result of this liaison is a series of progressive works, which I call the American Myth." This piece, part of that series, bridges commercial iconography with fine art, offering a profound commentary on cultural myths and the legacy of appropriation art. It stands as a testament to Schmid’s innovative legacy, appealing to collectors drawn to the intersection of photography, conceptual art, and hyperrealism.