Art in America: Colonial Times to the Present

Gallery 6 ‐ American Origins

During the colonial period, the tastes of the prosperous elite of New England created an eager demand for portraits. American artists emulated their English counterparts, and works like Erastus Salisbury Field’s portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Judson exemplify the deliberate, flatly modeled likenesses characteristic of early American art. Field’s technique sits in marked contrast to the more sophisticated modeling and bold colors of the Neoclassical period, which rose to prominence following the American Revolution. Seeking to create a symbolic link between the origins of democracy and the aspiring American republic, Neoclassicism relied on the art and philosophy of ancient Greece for inspiration.

American decorative arts also reflected the new republic’s ideals, as well as its growing economic prosperity. In the eighteenth century, the ornate furniture of the Englishman Thomas Chippendale was in high demand. His influence is reflected in the combination of functionality and intricate detail seen here in the maple and pine chest on chest. Following the Revolution, a more reserved style of spare form and elegant line emerged. Aaron Willard’s tall clock exemplifies the new Federalist style, a counterpart to Neoclassical painting.

Often considered the first distinctly American style of painting, the Hudson River School emerged in the mid nineteenth century. Works by painters like Thomas Cole and Thomas Doughty often relayed allegorical narratives about the spirituality of the natural world, as well as growing concerns about the impact of urban life on eastern landscapes. Their implication of divine presence found similarities in the writings of Transcendentalist authors like Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Alexander S. Gordon American, active 1795–1800 Cream Jug and Sugar Basin with Lid, ca. 1800 silver Museum purchase, 1961.194; 1961.195

Thomas Cole American, born England, 1801–1848 Stony Gap, Kaaterskill Clove, 1826–27 oil on wood panel Mr. and Mrs. Edwin S. Miller Bequest Fund, 1951.661 Erastus Salisbury Field American, 1805–1900 Portraits of Andrew and Hulda Judson, ca. 1835 oil on canvas Gift of Mrs. Rollin B. Judson, 1972.39 and 1972.40

Thomas Birch American, born England, 1779–1851 St. Eustatia, ca. 1840 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1964.618

James Peale American, 1749–1831 Portrait of Katherine Francis, 1807 oil on canvas Museum Purchase, 1982.2

Homer Dodge Martin American, 1836–1897 On the Upper Hudson, mid 1860s oil on canvas Mr. and Mrs. Edwin S. Miller Bequest Fund, 1953.82

Artist Unknown American, early 19th century The Greenhow Children, ca. 1818 oil on canvas Gift of Miss Emily Keller, 1942.112

Daniel Huntington American, 1816–1906 Roman Ruins in Southern Italy, 1848 oil on canvas Gift of J. L. Brandeis and Sons Co., 1952.97

Aaron Willard American, 1757–1844 Tall Case Clock, ca. 1800 mahogany and brass Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Harold A. Ladwig, 1976.33 American, probably Connecticut Slant‐Front Desk, ca. 1780 cherry and pine Gift of Jack and Helen Drew, 1991.2

American, Sheraton‐style Chest of Drawers, ca. 1800 mahogany Gift of Mrs. F. B. Johnson, 1945.89

William Sidney Mount American, 1807–1868 The Blackberry Girls, 1840 oil on panel Museum Purchase with Funds Provided by Susan Storz Butler, 2001.1

Severin Roesen American, born Germany, ca.1815–1872 Fruit Still Life with Compote of Strawberries ca. 1865–70 oil on canvas Museum purchase with funds from the Gilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock Foundation, 2002.10

Chauncey Bradley Ives American, 1810–1894 Shepherd Boy and Kid, 1859 marble Gift of the Joslyn Art Museum Association in honor of its Fiftieth Anniversary, 2001.16

Thomas Doughty American, 1793–1856 The Trout Pool, 1832–37 oil on canvas Edwin S. Miller Bequest Fund, 1951.662

Gallery 7 West ‐ Across the Wide Missouri

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark ascended the Missouri River in 1804, reaching the Pacific Ocean in November of the following year. Dispatched by President Thomas Jefferson to study the geography, natural history, and resources acquired in the Louisiana Purchase and to find an easily navigable route across the continent, they were followed by a vanguard of fur trappers, traders, and explorers, as well as artists. In 1832, the painter George Catlin was aboard the American Fur Company steamboat Yellow Stone as it made its way up the Missouri River past Council Bluffs, becoming the first artist to create an extensive record of the Upper Missouri. Catlin was soon followed by Karl Bodmer and Alfred Jacob Miller, and their work remains a vital record of the region at the moment between its first exploration by Euro‐Americans and the rapid settlement and industrialization that would forever change the West by the turn of the century.

The landscape was not uninhabited when the first explorers crossed the Missouri River. Over many millennia, Indian nations had formed complex societies throughout the Plains and Rocky Mountains. Catlin, Bodmer, and Miller were witnesses to a way of life that would be almost completely transformed within the coming decades, as tribe after tribe were removed from their homelands and suffered attrition from disease and other forces. The ceremonial and utilitarian artifacts in this gallery that were created by Indian tribes of the High Plains remind us of the interwoven history of the West, one that is still being negotiated in the twenty‐first century.

Gallery 7 East ‐ Faces of the Upper Missouri

Decades before George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, and Alfred Jacob Miller first saw the West, Upper Missouri Indian tribes sent regular emissaries to Washington, D.C. Thomas Jefferson and later presidents were eager to establish relationships to ensure safe passage for a growing tide of traders, trappers, and emigrants impatient to explore and claim land for an expanding nation. While Catlin, Bodmer, and Miller worked in the field, sketching what they considered were ethnographically accurate records of their subjects, hundreds of Plains Indians had already visited formal portrait studios in the nation’s capital. Beginning in 1821, Indians were brought to Washington, D.C. on diplomatic missions by Thomas L. McKenney, superintendent of Indian trade in Georgetown, who commissioned Charles Bird King and others to paint portraits of visiting dignitaries, with an eye toward building a National Indian Gallery. In 1824, McKenney was appointed superintendent of Indian affairs for the federal government and carried on his program with renewed energy. Although he lost his political appointment in 1830, he pressed forward with his plan to publish his Indian gallery, surreptitiously shipping the paintings to Philadelphia, where they were duplicated by portraitist Henry Inman. Inman’s paintings were in turn used to create lithographic plates, and between 1837 and 1844, McKenney and co‐author James Hall published a three‐volume portfolio, The History of the Indian Tribes of North America. These elegant, hand‐tinted prints portrayed over 120 sitters, along with biographical and historical essays, creating a vital profile of the peoples and culture of the Upper Missouri.

Carl Ferdinand Wimar American, born Germany, 1828–1862 Indians Stealing Horses, 1854 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1951.80

George Catlin American, 1796–1872 A Prairie Picnic Disturbed by a Rushing Herd of Buffalo, 1854 oil on canvas Gift of Mr. Carman H. Messmore, 1966.624

George Catlin American, 1796–1872 Buffalo Hunt, ca. 1832–35 oil on canvas Gift of W. F. Davidson, 1966.621 George Catlin American, 1796–1872 Buffalo Hunt, Upper Missouri, ca. 1832–35 oil on canvas Gift of Mr. Carman H. Messmore, 1966.625

George Catlin American, 1796–1872 Indian Buffalo Hunter, ca. 1832–35 oil on panel Museum purchase, 1953.251

attributed to Titian Peale American, 1799–1885 Western Landscape, ca. 1819–20 oil on canvas Gift of M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, 1978.268

William T. Ranney American, 1813–1857 Halt on the Prairie, ca. 1850 oil on paper Bequest of Mrs. John F. Merriam, 1998.25

William de la Montagne Cary American, 1840–1922 Jim Bridger with Sir William Drummond Stewart, 1872 oil on canvas Museum purchase with funds provided in part by Michael and Gail Yanney in honor of Dr. James O. Armitage, M.D., King of Aksarben, 1999, and the Art Purchase Fund, 1999.46

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Beaver Lodge on the Missouri, 1833 watercolor on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986.49.175 On their way upstream from Fort Union on the keelboat Flora, Bodmer made a study of a large beaver lodge that they passed on July 17, 1833.

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 First Chain of the Rocky Mountains above Fort McKenzie, 1833 watercolor on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986.49.210 While en route to Fork McKenzie, Maximilian noted in his journal on August 7 that he had glimpsed what he supposed to be the distant summits of the Rocky Mountains. On September 9, he wrote that he and Bodmer had gone into the hills above the river “to paint . . . the Bear’s Paw and to make a drawing of the first chain of the Rocky Mountains,” actually an isolated uplift known today as the Highwoods.

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Interior of a Mandan Earth Lodge, 1833–34 watercolor and ink on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986.261.a This scene, an outstanding example of Bodmer’s careful rendering of detail, shows the interior of the Mandan lodge that was the home of Dípäuch, an old and respected man who told Maximilian much about the history and beliefs of his people. Portions of the picture were sketched over a period of several months at Mih‐Tutta‐Hangkusch, from early December 1833 until mid April of the following year.

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Banks of the Missouri, 1833 watercolor on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986.49.160 Maximilian mentioned in his journal entry for May 15 that the steamboat Yellow Stone on which they traveled was grounded on a sandbar along the western side of the river channel until late afternoon. Bodmer took the opportunity to paint this view of a fellow boat, the Assiniboine, seen a short distance downstream below a high rampart of hills described by Maximilian as “rising one above another . . . mostly without life or variety.”

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Missouri Hills, Site of Former Kansas Village 1833 watercolor and pencil on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986.49.135 In his journal entry for April 23, Maximilian noted that a village of Kansas Indians had recently been located above Fort Leavenworth near the mouth of the Independence River. Bodmer made a quick sketch of the site that morning.

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 The Missouri in the Evening, 1833 watercolor and pencil on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986.49.145 The Yellow Stone, on which Maximilian’s party traveled from St. Louis, tied up for the night a short distance below the mouth of the Platte River on May 2. Earlier they had met Lucien Fontenelle, described by Maximilian as “in the service of the Fur Company. He lives on the post [in Bellevue] where Major Dougherty owns a house when he travels among the nations of the Otos, Omahas, and Pawnees as Indian agent.” That evening Bodmer made this sketch.

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Assiniboin Camp, 1833 watercolor and pencil on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986.49.379 On June 30, a band of Assiniboins set up a camp of about twenty‐five tipis at Fort Union. One of the tipis, the dwelling of a chief, was distinguished by the large bear figures painted on each side. The bear was a symbol of strong supernatural power, a medicine sought after to insure success in battle or for aid in treating the sick. Three travois are propped together in front of the tipi. Used to transport baggage, travois were harnessed to an animal, usually a dog, which dragged the load behind it.

after Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809‐1893 Remarkable Hills on the Upper Missouri, 1839 hand‐colored aquatint Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986.49.542.34

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Mandan Shrine, 1833 watercolor on paper Gift of the Enron Art Foundation, 1986.49.168 Bodmer painted this scene of a Mandan skull shrine in November 1833. The shrine was located near the burial ground of the village of Mih‐Tutta‐Hangkusch. The human skulls were probably removed from that burial ground. Skull shrines were related to beliefs regarding the human body after death and were used as fasting sites for those seeking supernatural powers.

Seth Eastman American, 1808–1875 Sioux Indians, 1850 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1946.27

George Caleb Bingham American, 1811–1879 Watching the Cargo by Night, 1854 oil on canvas Gift of Foxley & Co., 1997.33

Alfred Jacob Miller American, 1810–1874 The Surround, ca. 1839 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1963.611

Alfred Jacob Miller American, 1810–1874 The Trapper’s Bride, 1850 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1963.612

Alfred Jacob Miller American, 1810–1874 Captain Joseph Reddeford Walker, 1845–50 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1963.610

Alfred Jacob Miller American, 1810–1874 In the Rocky Mountains, ca. 1838 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1963.615

Alfred Jacob Miller American, 1810–1874 Indian Camp, Nebraska Territory, ca. 1838 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1954.58

Alfred Jacob Miller American, 1810–1874 Lake, Wind River Mountains, ca. 1837 watercolor on paper Museum purchase, 1988.10.16

Alfred Jacob Miller American, 1810–1874 Shoshones—Green River, ca. 1837 watercolor on paper Museum purchase, 1988.10.40

Alfred Jacob Miller American, 1810–1874 Indians Watering Horses, ca. 1838 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1963.614

Alfred Jacob Miller American, 1810–1874 Horse‐Shoe Creek, ca. 1837 watercolor on paper Museum purchase, 1988.10.2

Alfred Jacob Miller American, 1810–1874 Females, Snake Tribe—Driving in Horses, ca. 1837 watercolor on paper Museum purchase, 1988.10.100

Henry Inman American, 1801–1846 Ongpatonga (Big Elk), 1830s oil on canvas Museum purchase from the Edward R. Trabold and Lulu H. Trabold Fund with additional funds from the Durham Center for Western Studies Art Endowment Fund, 2011.2

Charles Bird King American, 1785–1862 Shaumonekusse (L’Ietan), an Oto Half Chief ca. 1821 oil on canvas Gift of M. Knoedler and Company, 1978.267

Omaha Jacket, ca. 1850 hide, beads, silk, and bone Gift of Wilmuth V. Carpenter in memory of James Franklin Carpenter, 1985.3

Central or Northern Plains Shield, late 19th century painted hide Lent by the Omaha Public Library, L‐1949.225

Howling Wolf Southern Cheyenne, 1849–1927 Drawing Book, ca. 1875 ink and watercolor on paper Gift of Alexander M. Maish in memory of Anna Bourke Richardson, 1991

Omaha Omaha Suit, ca. 1870–80 beaded leather Museum purchase, 1981.47

Crow Gun Case, ca. 1870–80 hide, beads, and cloth Gift of Mrs. A. H. Richardson, 1956

Central or Northern Plains Gunstock Club, early to mid 19th century catlinite Museum purchase, 1984.33

Sioux Moccasins, late 19th century beaded hide Gift of Mrs. Guy Grosjean, 1949.30

Central or Northern Plains Moccasins, late 19th century hide, beads, and quills Lent by the Board of Education, Omaha Public Schools, L‐1950.270

Sioux Ration Ticket Bag, late 19th century hide, beads, and metal Bequest of Mary Luddington McKeen, 1942.100

Sioux

Ration Ticket Bag, late 19th century hide, beads, and metal Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph William Jacobus, 1958.66

Sioux Blanket Strip, 1870s hide, beads, and German silver Given in memory of Hudson D. Mead by Mrs. Mead, 1953.42

Arapaho Saddle Bag, late 19th century hide, quills, and beads Lent by the Omaha Public Library, L‐1949.578

Sioux Pipe Bowl, late 19th century catlinite Gift of Emma Aleda Bates, 1939.78a

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Homachséh‐Katatóhs, Piegan Blackfeet Man 1834 watercolor on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation,1986.49.293

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Pteh‐Skah, Assiniboin Chief, 1833 watercolor and pencil on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986.49.257

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Biróhkä, Hidatsa Man, 1833 watercolor and pencil on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation,1986.49. 291

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Síh‐Chidä, Mandan Man, 1833 watercolor on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation,1986.49.267 Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Study of an Elk, 1833 watercolor, ink, and pencil on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation,1986.49.335

Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809–1893 Lynx,1832 ink and pencil on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation,1986.49.344

after William Clark American, 1770–1838 Map, Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1833 pencil, ink, and watercolor on paper Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986

Maximilian, Prince of Wied German, 1782–1867 Tagebuch (Journal), 1832–1834 Volume 2: April–September 1833 This is Volume 2 of Maximilian’s three‐volume journal of his travels in North America. The pages are typical of the prince’s thorough recordkeeping and representative of his artistic abilities.

after Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809‐1893 Bison Dance of the Mandan Indians in front of their Medicine Lodge in Mih‐Tutta‐Hankush 1842 hand‐colored aquatint Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986

after Karl Bodmer Swiss, 1809‐1893 Junction of the Yellow Stone River with the Missouri, 1839 hand‐colored aquatint Gift of Enron Art Foundation, 1986 Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall American, 1785–1859 / 1793–1868 4 hand‐colored lithographs from The History of the Indian Tribes of North America (Philadelphia: Daniel Rice and James G. Clark, 1842) Museum purchase with funds provided by Suzanne and Walter Scott, 2007.3

Gallery 8 ‐ An Expanding Presence

The works in this gallery illustrate the diversity of interests and growing international presence of American artists in the second half of the nineteenth century. Living in a nation struggling to rebuild after four years of civil war, artists broke with prevailing narrative traditions. Genre painters such as John George Brown showed a new interest in childhood themes, suggesting hope for renewal in the Reconstruction period. Paintings and sculptures depicting scenes of everyday life adorned parlors across the nation, their allegories offering an optimistic moral guide. A new generation of American landscape painters broadened their vision beyond the influence of the Hudson River School and academic conventions. Inspired by their exposure to European art, in particular the French Barbizon School, artists including Eanger Irving Couse depicted intimate pastoral locales rather than a contested wilderness.

Later in the nineteenth century, painters like William Merritt Chase and John Singer Sargent began to achieve international recognition for American artists. Chase’s emotionally charged scene of fellow artist Robert Blum and his wife became a vehicle to explore composition, light, and expressive brushwork, influenced by the techniques of French Impressionism. While many American artists of the period studied abroad and found commercial success as expatriates, Thomas Eakins returned to the United States after spending time in Paris. Noted for departing from convention, he is revered for representing his sitters, who were often friends or associates, in a direct and psychologically penetrating manner new to American painting.

Ralph Albert Blakelock American, 1847–1919 A Mountain Stream, 1872–80 oil on canvas Gift of Mrs. Harold Gifford, 1961.241

John George Brown American, 1831–1913 Pals, ca. 1885 oil on canvas Gift of Mrs. C. N. Dietz, 1934.18

Eanger Irving Couse American, 1866–1936 The Cowherd, 1895 oil on canvas Gift of the Omaha Public Library, 1996.28

William Merritt Chase American, 1849–1916 Sunlight and Shadow, 1884 oil on canvas Gift of the Friends of Art Collection, 1932.4

Frank Duveneck American, 1848–1919 Portrait of an Old Actor, 1876 oil on canvas Museum Purchase, 1938.20

Thomas Eakins American, 1844–1916 Professor John Laurie Wallace, ca. 1883 oil on canvas Gift of the James A. Douglas Foundation, 1941.24

William M. Harnett American, born Ireland, 1848–1892 Le Figaro, 1880 oil on canvas Museum Purchase, 1961.89

Eastman Johnson American, 1824–1906 Child with Rabbit, 1879 oil on panel Museum purchase, Joslyn Endowment Fund, 1946.32

John Rogers American, 1829–1904 Taking the Oath and Drawing Rations, 1866 painted plaster Gift of E. A. Kingman, 1956.330

Lemuel Everett Wilmarth American, 1835–1918 Still Life, Strawberries, 1890 oil on canvas Gift of Mrs. Karl Soeder, 1954.213

Alexander Wyant American, 1836–1892 Opening in the Woods, ca. 1890 oil on canvas Bequest of Jessie Barton Christiancy, 1931.26

John Singer Sargent American, 1856–1925 Portrait of Mrs. A. Lawrence Rotch, 1903 oil on canvas Lent anonymously, L‐1987.5

Gorham Manufacturing Company American, founded 1831 Beaux‐Arts Style Punch Bowl, 1893 silver and silver gilt Anonymous gift, 2007.25

Albert Bierstadt American, born Germany, 1830–1902 Rising Mist, 1874 oil on canvas Lent anonymously, 2009

Gallery 9 West ‐ The Romantic Horizon

In the second half of the nineteenth century, artists had begun to envision grand and dramatic western landscapes that owed as much to the imagination as to direct observation. Trained in the European romantic tradition, their canvases were often based on sketches made in the field but completed in studios hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from their subjects. Albert Bierstadt first crossed the Rocky Mountains in the 1860s, and Thomas Moran travelled with the earliest surveys of the Yellowstone region and the Grand Canyon the following decade. Yet while both painters witnessed development spread throughout the western territories and relied on wealthy urban patronage, their paintings were steadfast in presenting a sublime natural world seemingly unaffected by man. Perhaps no location better embodied these contradictions than Yosemite Valley. Lured by tales of its grandeur, the first tourists came to Yosemite in 1855. Set aside as a park by President Abraham Lincoln, Yosemite was not an isolated wilderness but a place where visitors from San Francisco and other metropolitan areas could escape to an Edenic garden within a short walk of comfortable lodging. The artists in this gallery helped to shape an idealized image of the western landscape as an untouched wilderness that has persisted to the present day.

Many of the paintings in this gallery are generously on loan from the collection of William C. Foxley. An Omaha native and cattleman, Foxley assembled one of the foremost collections of American Western art, reflecting a life‐long passion for the imagery and artists of the American West.

Albert Bierstadt American, born Germany, 1830–1902 Big Sandy River—Wind River Mountains, 1860 oil on board Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Albert Bierstadt American, born Germany, 1830–1902 Dawn at Donner Lake, California, ca. 1871–73 oil on paper on canvas Gift of Mrs. C. N. Dietz, 1934.13

Thomas Moran American, born England, 1837–1926 In the Teton Range, 1899 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Thomas Moran American, born England, 1837–1926 Castle Rock, 1907 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Thomas Moran American, born England, 1837–1926 The Grand Canyon of the Colorado, 1913 oil on canvas Gift of Mrs. C. N. Dietz, 1934.10

Henry Farny American, born Alsace, 1847–1916 Nomads, 1902 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Thomas Hill American, 1829–1908 A Fisherman and His Dog on the Bank of the Merced River, Yosemite, 1895 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Thomas Hill American, 1829–1908 Mountain Scene, 1892 oil on canvas Gift of the Friends of Art Collection, 1932.13

Worthington Whittredge American, 1820–1910 Long’s Peak, Colorado, 1866 oil on paper on canvas Museum purchase, 1965.58

Solon Borglum American, 1868‐1922 Our Slave, 1901 marble Gift of Paul A. Borglum and Monica B. Davies, 1959.13

Albert Bierstadt American, born Germany, 1830–1902 The Trappers, Lake Tahoe, 1870s oil on canvas Gift of Mrs. Harold Gifford, 1961.430

Timothy H. O’Sullivan American, 1840–1882 Iceberg Cañon, Colorado River, Looking Above 1871 albumen silver print Private Collection, Denver, 2011

Gallery 9 East ‐ The Myth of the West

In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the frontier experience had been the defining event in shaping the American character, noting as well that the era of westward progress had ended. In the decades that followed, however, the mythology of the West grew ever more compelling in art and literature. Painters created an image of the West as a rough‐ hewn paradise of rugged landscapes and daring action. Their theatrical narratives were often fraught with danger, but the vista was unsullied by settlement or industry, and lives were governed by common sense and muscle. In the opening decades of the twentieth century, hard‐working cowhands and stalwart Indians rode across canvases and popular illustrations that were often produced by painters and illustrators who had little direct experience of the West. Images of a measureless wilderness or a cowboy riding in a land governed by heroic actions have remained potent symbols in our national ideology. This vision—equal parts fact, myth, and nostalgia—continues to stalk us in movies, advertisements, and in our own imaginations, even as we acknowledge the complexity and contradictions of the West.

William Robinson Leigh American, 1866–1955 Close Call, 1943 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

N. C. Wyeth American, 1882–1945 Illustration for Fisk Cord Tires, 1919 oil on canvas on panel Museum purchase with funds from Collectors’ Choice VI, 1995, and the Major Art Purchase Fund, 1995.2

Charles Schreyvogel American, 1861–1912 A Close Call, ca. 1900–12 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Charles M. Russell American, 1864–1926 Jumped, 1914 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Charles M. Russell American, 1864–1926 Round‐Up on the Musselshell, 1919 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

William Robinson Leigh American, 1866–1955 Gathering Water, 1914 oil on canvas board Gift of Norman W. Waitt, Jr., 2010.1

Eanger Irving Couse American, 1866–1936 Hunter in the Aspens, ca. 1904 oil on canvas Gift of Mrs. C. N. Dietz, 1934.22

Maynard Dixon American, 1875–1946 The Pony Boy (Blackfeet Indians, Montana) 1920 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Maynard Dixon American, 1875–1946 Open Range, 1942 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Frank Tenney Johnson American, 1874–1939 The Homecoming, 1934 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Frederic S. Remington American, 1861–1909 Cutting Out Pony Herds, 1908 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Frederic S. Remington American, 1861–1909 Pony Herder, ca. 1909 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Frederic S. Remington American, 1861–1909 An Old Time Northern Plains Indian: The Coup, 1908 oil on canvas Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Frederic S. Remington American, 1861–1909 Bronco Buster, 1895 bronze Lent by William C. Foxley, 2006

Realism, Abstraction, and Regionalism

The first half of the twentieth century was a period of complex and competing themes in American art. Around 1900, a group of painters emerged in Philadelphia and New York who treated the urban landscape in a manner that was neither sentimental nor picturesque. Employing bold, loose brushwork and a dark palette, these artists portrayed working‐class subjects in a realistic and dignified manner, drawing attention to the daily routines of urban life. Under the leadership of Robert Henri, they were nicknamed “The Eight” for their commitment to elevating the contemporary city to the subject of fine art.

Almost simultaneously, American artists had begun to experiment with abstraction and the influences of the European avant‐garde, invoking a new visual language to meet the challenges of the coming century. Adapting the formal characteristics of such artists as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque to wholly American subjects, painters including Stuart Davis and Raymond Jonson translated the energetic mood of a nation bursting into the technological age and iconic American landscapes into rhythmic, geometric abstractions.

The centerpiece of this gallery is Grant Wood’s Stone City, Iowa, one of the most celebrated paintings in the Joslyn collection. Wood and his fellow regionalist artists John Steuart Curry and Thomas Hart Benton championed rural America with a bold, graphic style that energized the landscapes and peoples of the Midwest and Plains. Although their work was not without portents of conflict or threat, they provided a reassuring antidote to the tumult and fear of the Great Depression of the 1930s, grounding a struggling nation in the comfort of a pastoral ideal.

Thomas Hart Benton American, 1889–1975 The Hailstorm, 1940 oil and egg tempera on canvas mounted on panel Gift of the James A. Douglas Memorial Foundation (1971), 1952.11

Grant Wood American, 1891–1942 Stone City, Iowa, 1930 oil on wood panel Gift of the Art Institute of Omaha, 1930.35 Alexander Brook American, 1898–1980 Frogtown Lady, 1939 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1972.12

Marvin Cone American, 1891–1965 Attic Door No. 2, 1945 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1945.102

John Steuart Curry American, 1897–1946 Manhunt, 1931 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1979.142

Stuart Davis American, 1892–1964 American Painting, 1932–51 oil on canvas On Permanent Deposit to Joslyn Art Museum from the University of Nebraska at Omaha Art Collection, L‐1974.71

Manierre Dawson American, 1887–1969 Equation, 1914 oil on cardboard on board Museum purchase with funds provided by the Joslyn Women's Association: Collectors' Choice III and the JWA 1987‐88 Administration, and gift of Ephraim Marks, 1988.4

Robert Henri American, 1865–1929 Portrait of Fi, 1907 oil on canvas Museum purchase, Irving W. Benolken Memorial Fund, 1957.14

Raymond Jonson American, 1891–1982 Composition Five — The Wind, 1925 oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1994.20

Eugene Kingman American, 1909–1975 Pioneer Trail into Council Bluffs, 1954 oil on canvas Gift of Laura W. Dodge and N. P. Dodge, Jr., in memory of N. P. Dodge, 1954.209

Walt Kuhn American, 1877–1949 Woman with Black Necklace, 1928 oil on canvas Gift of Charles Simon, 1979.139

John Sloan American, 1871–1951 Sunset, West Twenty‐third Street (23rd Street, Roofs, Sunset), 1906 oil on canvas Museum 25th Anniversary purchase, 1957.15

Wright Morris American, 1910–1998 House in Winter, Eastern Nebraska 1941, printed1981 gelatin silver print Museum purchase, Collectors' Choice VII, 1997.4.3

Wright Morris American, 1910–1998 Dresser Drawer, near Norfolk, Nebraska 1947, printed1981 gelatin silver print Museum purchase, Collectors' Choice VII, 1997.4.6 Elie Nadelman American, born Poland, 1882–1946 Two Figures, 1913 gilt bronze Gift of Martin Birnbaum, 1948.22a‐b

Paul Manship American, 1885–1966 Danaë, 1920 bronze Gift of Mrs. Arthur O'Brien, 1947.295

George Bellows American, 1882‐1925 Jewel Coast, California, 1917 oil on wood Museum purchase, 1959.164