Mindy N. Besaw – författare

Artist-explorer John Mix Stanley (1814-1872), one of the most celebrated chroniclers of the American West in his time, was in a sense a victim of his own success. So highly regarded was his work that more than two hundred of his paintings were held at the Smithsonian Institution - where in 1865 a fire destroyed all but seven of them. This volume, featuring a comprehensive collection of Stanley's extant art, reproduced in full color, offers an opportunity - and ample reason - to rediscover the remarkable accomplishments of this outsize figure of nineteenth-century American culture.Originally from New York State, Stanley journeyed west in 1842 to paint Indian life. During the U.S.-Mexican War, he joined a frontier military expedition and traveled from Santa Fe to California, producing sketches and paintings of the campaign along the way - work that helped secure his fame in the following decades. He was also appointed chief artist for Isaac Stevens's survey of the 48th parallel for a proposed transcontinental railroad. The essays in this volume, by noted scholars of American art, document and reflect on Stanley's life and work from every angle. The authors consider the artist's experience on government expeditions; his solo tours among the Oregon settlers and western and Plains Indians; and his career in Washington and search for government patronage, as well as his individual works.With contributions by Emily C. Burns, Scott Manning Stevens, Lisa Strong, Melissa Speidel, Jacquelyn Sparks, and Emily C. Wilson, the essays in this volume convey the full scope of John Mix Stanley's artistic accomplishment and document the unfolding of that uniquely American vision throughout the artist's colorful life. Together they restore Stanley to his rightful place in the panorama of nineteenth-century American life and art.

Knowing the West encourages deeper consideration of a familiar topic, to celebrate the wide variety of cultures that together reflect the complex histories and stories of the American West. Astonishing in range, historical significance, medium, and quality, more than 120 artworks by Native American and non-Native artists are presented including textiles, baskets, paintings, pottery, sculpture, beadwork, saddles, and prints honoring a large percentage of women-makers, in particular. The artworks are shown in meaningful dialogue, such as a California basket by Elizabeth Hickox (Wiyot/Karuk), juxtaposed with a large-scale California landscape by Albert Bierstadt, emphasizing influence and exchange and pointing out different ways of thinking about land and place. Multiple texts by a diverse range of scholars with broad-reaching perspectives explore topics such as Lakota winter counts, saddle designs, Euro-American artists as collectors, printmaking, diplomacy, Hispanic art traditions at the border, and Pueblo and Hopi potters. This unprecedented volume includes artworks from the late 18th to early 20th centuries from more than 35 distinct tribal nations alongside American artists.