A new exhibit at the PDNB Gallery features photographs of the infamous Texas criminals Bonnie and Clyde. The historical photos on display, from PDNB’s gallery director Burt Finger’s personal collection, highlight the deadly aftermath of the two-year manhunt for America’s most romanticized criminal couple.
The depiction of Bonnie and Clyde in their lifetime and after has been the stuff of legends. The notorious and often romanticized lives of the fugitive couple have been the subject of films, television shows, songs, books and musicals. They were part of the ‘Public Enemies’ era of the 20’s and 30’s when the public’s and Hollywood’s obsession with high profile criminals was at an all time high. The era included infamous gangsters like John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd and Al Capone.
As often is the case sensationalized stories, the truth was less glamorous than we think. Bonnie and Clyde were clumsy criminals, ‘often resorting to stealing small sums of cash from gasoline stations and food stores, while living out of their stolen cars,” the Seattle Times wrote in 2009. The couple met their deadly fate on May 23, 1934.
‘BONNIE & CLYDE The End’ will be on display until November 11.
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