Norm Clasen’s iconic Cowboy series is a photographic tribute to the mythology of the American West. As a principal photographer for the Marlboro campaign from 1978 to 1991, Clasen captured some of the most enduring visual symbols of Americana, shaping public memory of the “Marlboro Man.” His images—shot alongside real cowboys in raw, unfiltered conditions—carry an authenticity rooted in experience, trust, and deep respect for the land.
Born in Southern California in 1939 and based in Aspen since the 1960s, Clasen is an outdoorsman turned image-maker whose career bridges commercial legacy and fine art. His photographs merge cinematic scale with painterly precision, offering intimate glimpses into cowboy life alongside sweeping landscapes.
Clasen’s work has sparked critical conversations around authorship and appropriation, particularly in response to artist Richard Prince’s re-photographs of his Marlboro imagery. These acts of recontextualization brought Clasen’s contributions into sharper focus, prompting new recognition of the artistic and technical mastery behind the original photographs.
Today, Clasen’s images stand as visual documents of a fading American ideal—both nostalgic and newly urgent in their call to reflect on identity, land, and cultural mythology. He lives and works in Carbondale, Colorado.