Art Faculty Interviewed for CNN Article on Resurgence of Cowboy Fashion

East Texas A&M University Associate Professor of Art History and University Gallery Director Melynda Seaton, Ph.D., was featured in a CNN article discussing the recent rise of cowboy and western fashion in America.

In the article, Seaton posited that tropes of the wild west that were first popularized by Buffalo Bill’s traveling shows in the late 1800s–and brought back to the forefront of public consciousness by Western films–have reappeared in cycles. She added that the glamorous side of “cowboy” life is portrayed in pop culture, but the realities of the often harsh conditions of life in rural areas or out on the prairies is rarely shown.

Seaton, a native Texan, has published several papers revolving around the subject. Her publications “Dead Man's Prices: Nancy Cooper Russell as a Cowboy Artist Career Maker” and “Playing Cowboys and Indians in David Levinthal's Wild West” were presented at the Southeast College Art Conference in 2025 and 2022, respectively. She has worked at East Texas A&M since 2019, and oversees the operations of the University Gallery in the Art Building.

Read the full CNN Article.