Keith Jackson: Knight Riders
Keith Jackson, Where Courage Sits, 2025, oil on canvas, 72 x 84 inches (182.9 x 213.4 cm)
September 5 - October 18, 2025
Opening Reception: September 5, 5:30 – 8 pm
Steven Zevitas Gallery is pleased to present Knight Riders, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Wisconsin-based artist Keith Jackson. The exhibition will be on view from September 5 - October 18, 2025, with an opening reception on Friday, September 5, from 5:30 - 8pm. Knight Riders pays homage to several legendary African-American figures of the American Old West and celebrates the rich history of Black cowboys.
A self-taught painter, Jackson was raised on a crop and small livestock farm in rural Missouri and spent many years working as a building contractor. Born in 1966 during the golden age of westerns, he fondly recalls playing with friends’ horses and watching reruns of Gunsmoke and The Wild Wild West. Like many kids of that era, he dreamed of becoming a cowboy. But as Jackson reflects, “the cowboys on TV didn’t look like me.” The screen was dominated by white actors—even in roles portraying Native peoples—while the true history of Black cowboys was largely erased from popular media. This portrayal, however, was far from accurate.
It is estimated that one in four cowboys in the Old West were African American. After The Emancipation Proclamation was signed, many formerly enslaved people sought new opportunities in the cowboy profession. Not only was this one of the few areas where they could achieve a degree of autonomy and economic independence, but many were already highly skilled in horsemanship, cattle handling, roping and more. The remarkable contributions of figures like Nat Love, Bass Reeves, and Bill Pickett, solidify their status as heroes of the American Old West.
Nat Love was known for his exceptional skills in roping, shooting and breaking horses. Born into slavery, he earned his place on the range at sixteen years old. He was tasked with achieving the unimaginable: breaking the wildest horse at the Duval Ranch named Good Eye. He went on to spend most of his days as a cattle driver and self-published an autobiography titled Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as ‘Deadwood Dick,’ by Himself in 1907.
Bill Pickett was a legendary cowboy and rodeo performer known for his technique “bulldogging,” where he would jump from his horse to capture stray cattle by biting them on the lip and wrestling them to the ground. This method became popular among cowboys and eventually morphed into the steer wrestling practiced in rodeos today. In 1905 he joined the 101 Ranch Wild West show that featured Buffalo Bill, Will Rogers and Lucille Mulhall and was the first African American man inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Bass Reeves was the first Black U.S. deputy marshal and was one of the greatest lawmen on the western frontier. As a young man born into slavery, he escaped his master and fled into the Indian Territories where he learned to speak five different Native American languages. Standing at 6ft 2in and weighing 180lbs, he was said to possess superhuman strength. Bass Reeves brought around 4,000 criminals to justice while working the most dangerous territory in the United States.
These men were just a few among the thousands of Black Americans who forged lives of freedom in the Old West. Their legacy lives on, even in urban settings. Across the country, organized groups of “Concrete Cowboys” continue the tradition, honoring the past while keeping the spirit of the Black cowboy alive. Through his portraits of these iconic figures, Jackson brings attention to a powerful and often overlooked chapter of American history.
KEITH JACKSON (b. 1966 Essex, MO) lives and works in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A self-taught artist, Jackson worked as a building contractor for most of his life up until the last few years when he began dedicating his full time to his painting practice. He attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2022. Steven Zevitas Gallery hosted his premiere solo exhibition in 2021. Recent solo exhibitions have been hosted by Harper’s (Los Angeles, CA) and Charles Moffett (New York, NY). His work has been written about by New York Times Style Magazine and Surface Magazine. Jackson has been included in group exhibitions with The Green Gallery (Milwaukee, WI), Red Arrow Gallery (Nashville, TN), Harper’s (Los Angeles, CA), and Charles Moffett (New York, NY).