The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America by Ron Tarver

March 26 – June 6, 2025

Public Gallery Talk and Book Signing April 15, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

The Silva Gallery welcomes acclaimed photographer and Swarthmore College art professor Ron Tarver and his photo essay, The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America. From ranches to city streets, Tarver’s photographs reveal the beauty, romance, and visual poetry of Black cowboys throughout the country. Tarver is a natural pioneer of contemporary Black cowboy photography. Growing up in Fort Gibson, OK, with Black cowboys as an ordinary part of his life, he rode horses, went to rodeos, spent summer days on his cousin's ranch, or worked on local farms. His grandfather, Thomas Wilson, was a working cowboy in the 1940s. His father, Richard, was an avid photographer who documented the local Black community, teaching Tarver how to do the same.

In the recently published book, The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America (George F. Thompson Publishing, 2024) Tarver illuminates the enduring heritage of Black cowboys through 110 photos made in the early 1990s, at the start of this thirty-year (ongoing) project. Pictured are cowboys and cowgirls of all ages, Black-owned ranches and rodeo operations, parades, urban cowboys, and retired cowhands. In addition, Art T. Burton, a distinguished historian, author, and expert on Black cowboys, provides a comprehensive essay on the icons who shaped America.

Tarver, a Pulitzer Prize-, Pew Fellowship-, and Guggenheim Fellowship-winning photographer will be on campus on April 15 for a gallery talk and book signing.

Visiting the Silva Gallery:

Appointments can be made via 609–737–4133 or silvagallery@pennington.org.

Appointments are available Tuesday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Accommodations can be made for groups of 6 or more on Tuesday evenings (6:00-8:00 p.m.) and Saturday afternoons (12:00-2:00 p.m.).

48 hours of advanced notification is required for appointments as all visitors will need to be placed on our visitor log.

The Silva Gallery is ADA accessible.

Parking: Enter the campus of The Pennington School at the main entrance off of West Delaware Avenue between the two brick pillars. Proceed to the T and turn right, and you will see four visitor spots on the left. If visitor spots are filled, please park in any open spot not marked Admission.