Booker T. Washington on horseback taken by the American photographer Arthur P.Bedou in 1915 follows the canons of formal and equestrian portraiture. Equestrian imagery has been seen in art throughout history in a myriad of different media. Examples can be seen in West African bronze sculptures of the 10th century through to European Baroque canvases of the 17th century. When we, the audience, see a character riding a horse, we can't help but think of war or power, as we should in most cases. Roland Barthes wrote: “What establishes the nature of photography is the pose. » So when Arthur Bedou took the photo of Booker T. Washington on horseback in 1915, it is hard to think that he did not carefully pose Washington in order to convey a specific message. Arthur Bedou was a French Creole known for his unique developing techniques, portraits and landscapes. Booker T. Washington hired him as a traveling photographer for his final speaking engagements in the South. In order to fully understand the correlation between pose and model, we need to discuss the importance of Booker T. Washington in American politics. Washington was not only president of the Tuskegee Institute, but also a political leader who campaigned for blacks to achieve economic equality with whites. He believed that if African Americans attended vocational schools to learn industrial and agricultural skills, they could begin to work for themselves and perhaps then gain the respect of the white community. Reflecting on his beliefs it can be argued that he was not a radical, he accepted that segregation and discrimination was a way of life in the nation, but if African Americans continued to be the driving force of the work forced, they would soon obtain equal rights. Booker T. Wash...... middle of paper ...... ll, the photography presented was very simple but unequivocally powerful. Works Cited Bedou, Arthur P. Booker T. Washington on Horseback. 1915. Museum of Modern Art, New York. “Booker T. Washington Biography – Facts, Birthday, Life Story – Biography.com.” Famous Biographies and TV Shows - Biography.com. Internet. October 9, 2011. http://www.biography.com/people/booker-t-washington-9524663. Lytle, Walter A. and John F. Moffitt. “Velázquez, Olivares and Baroque equestrian portraiture.” The Burlington Magazine 123.942 (1981): 528-37. JSTOR. Internet. October 9, 2011. http://www.jstor.org/stable/880474.Schwartz, Peter H. “Equestrian Imagery in European and American Political Thought: Toward an Understanding of Symbols as Political Texts.” The Western Political Quarterly 41.4 (1988): 653-73. JSTOR. Internet. October 9, 2011. http://www.jstor.org/stable/448488.