W. H. Dunton: Illustration and the Popular West
W. Herbert Dunton (1878–1936), untitled illustration in the September 20, 1915 issue of The Popular Magazine. Public domain image
A Dunton-illustrated cover of Her Prairie Knight, 1907. Dunton was well known for his outdoorsman imagery that romanticized the adventure of traveling to the West for a primarily suburban Eastern audience.
Before he settled in Taos, W. Herbert “Buck” Dunton built a successful career as a commercial illustrator. His work appeared in books, newspapers, and widely circulated magazines such as McClure’s, Collier’s, Cosmopolitan, and The Popular Magazine, which was a precursor to the pulp fiction magazines that would explode in popularity in the 1920s. Dunton’s images helped popularize a rugged vision of the West for readers far beyond New Mexico.
A Dunton-illustrated cover of a 1913 book and the promotional blurb on its back cover.