Billy the Kid in the Movies Last day to see Cowboys Real and Imagined

Commemorate this last day to see Cowboys Real and Imagined with a presentation by Baldwin G. Burr, historian, author, and photo archivist at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts. Using clips from decades’ worth of Billy movies, Burr shows how social and cultural trends influenced the various portrayals of New Mexico’s most famous outlaw.

Free with admission; Sundays free to NM residents. This event is generously supported by the New Mexico Humanities Council.

How was a relatively minor participant in the Lincoln County War transformed into the legendary outlaw? When he arrived in Lincoln County in 1877, William Bonney was just 17 years old. Four years later, he was killed at Fort Sumner by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Almost immediately, his legend began to grow, and the silver screen wasn’t far behind. The power of the legend of Billy the Kid was influenced by the social and cultural trends present at the time the various movies were made, far more than by any historic facts of the young man’s life. Burr’s presentation draws from some of the more than 60 motion pictures made with Billy as the main character.

Burr is the author of Images of America: Los Lunas, and Images of America: Belen, published by Arcadia Publishing, and Southwest by Midwest, a catalog of an exhibition of his photographs at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts. He is a member of the Historical Society of New Mexico, the Central New Mexico Corral of Westerners International, the Valencia County Historical Society, the Madison County (Ohio) Historical Society, and the Los Alamos Historical Society. He currently serves as the president of the Valencia County Historical Society and is the secretary of the Historical Society of New Mexico. He also is the Sheriff (President) of the Central New Mexico Corral of Westerners International.

Cowboys Real and Imagined includes a digital image of the famous Billy the Kid tintype that was purchased at a 2011 auction by William Koch. The exhibit explores New Mexico’s cowboy legacy from its origin in the Spanish vaquero tradition through itinerant hired hands, outlaws, rodeo stars, cowboy singers, Tom Mix movies and more, grounding the story in New Mexico through rare photographs, cowboy gear, movies and art.