Typically, when thinking of early depictions of the American landscape, one might imagine sweeping, picturesque views of lakes, rivers, canyons and mountains—we think of Bierstadt, Kensett and Cole. But there are many sides to the story of landscapes in North America and in particular, the American West. The Phoenix Art Museum seeks to explore this story in a major upcoming exhibition. Opening November 7, Landscapes of Extraction: The Art of Mining in the American West takes visitors on a journey through the evolution of the art of mining, diving into scenes of industry and enterprise in the early 20th century. Featuring more than 80 paintings, prints and sculptures, the exhibition depicts large-scale and open-pit mines and other industrial scenes in places like Arizona, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah and Texas. With artwork ranging from the 1910s to present day, the exhibition takes visitors through the experiences of artists alive during that period in history, as well as modern artists looking back.
Vance Kirkland (1904-1981), Nevadaville Landscape, 1938, watercolor on paper. Collection Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, Denver.
“It’s an unlikely theme for an exhibition. For my entire career I’ve worked on artists who’ve had strong connections to industry. It’s been my quirky [passion] to deal with that kind of subject matter…Lumber mills, coal mines, interesting places,” says exhibition curator Betsy Fahlman, adjunct curator of American art at the Phoenix Art Museum. “[At the time], not every state had artists who depicted the mines in their states, but Arizona, Utah, Colorado and others did…I think it tells a story of transformation.”
Erika Osborne, The Chasm of Bingham, oil on linen. Courtesy the artist.
Fahlman explains that in the first half of the 1900s, mining was a particularly important regional theme for many artists, especially under the New Deal, which brought about a number of public works projects. She adds, “I hope [visitors] will not only respond to the early works but also the contemporary artists. [The exhibition is] a conversation between what historic artists and contemporary artists have done.”
Discussing a few of the highlights in the exhibition, Fahlman says she was surprised at how many women painted these industrial themes, particularly in Colorado. Eve Drewelowe’s 1940 watercolor Crosses, Central City Colorado depicts the town in a partially representational manner, and yet the scene sways and undulates, like ripples on water. “It’s the most amazing image…It’s a real stunner of a painting by a woman artist who moved the boulder,” says Fahlman. Mountains and Miner’s Shack by Helen Katharine Forbes is another stunning piece, she says. Contemporary artist Erika Osborne’s oil The Chasm of Bingham, painted in 2012, is a breathtaking panoramic and the cover of the book affiliated with the show. Fahlman describes the piece as almost “primordial.” 
Helen Katharine Forbes (1891-1945), Mountains and Miner’s Shack, 1940, oil on canvas. The Schoen Collection: American Scene Painting; Courtesyof the Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia.
Landscapes of Extraction will be on view at the Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona through March 6, 2022. “I want [visitors] to be astonished at an unexpected theme. There have been many exhibitions of the gorgeous American landscape. This isn’t your Ansel Adams landscape. This isn’t your Thomas Moran landscape,” says Fahlman. “It recognizes another area of important landscape work in the American West that
I think people have not always considered. And it’s a new story in many ways.”—
Landscapes of Extraction: The Art of Mining in the American West
November 7-March 6, 2022
Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 257-1880, www.phxart.org
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