Knowing the West: Visual Legacies of the American West was curated to explore how how people see the American West, and then expand it. It aims to tell a more inclusive story and show the diverse groups who shaped the art and life of the West.
Co-curated by Mindy Besaw, Crystal Bridges’ curator of American art and director of research, fellowships, and university partnerships, and Jami Powell (Osage), associate director for curatorial affairs and curator of Indigenous art at the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, the exhibition presents more than 120 historic works by Native and non-Native American artists, including textiles, baskets, paintings, pottery, sculpture, beadwork, saddles and print, spanning the early 19th century to today.
Grafton Tyler Brown (1841-1918), A Yellowstone Geyser, 1887. Oil on canvas, 28 x 11 in. Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Emily L. Ainsley Fund and The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection. Photograph © 2024 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
“Throughout the development and planning for this exhibition, we have prioritized the display of works by Native American artists—and particularly works by women—not only to celebrate the depth, breadth, diversity and dynamic nature of Indigenous art of the West, but to demonstrate the significant impacts of Indigenous creative expression on the formation of the United States more broadly,” says Powell. “In focusing on narratives and ways of knowing that may be unfamiliar to some audiences, the exhibition aims to expand rather than replace existing impressions of the West.”
Additonal featured artists include Maria and Julian Martinez, Albert Bierstadt, E. Boyd, Elizabeth and Louise Hickox, Frederic Remington and others.
Elizabeth Conrad Hickox (Karuk/Wiyot, 1875-1947) and Louise Hickox (Karuk [Karok], 1896-1967), basket, ca. 1925. Wild grape root, myrtle sticks, hazel, maidenhair fern, yellow-dyed porcupine quills, staghorn lichen, 8 x 81/16 x 81/16 in. Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, NH. Gift of Mrs. James Foster Scott, in memory of her late husband, Victor J. Evans.
Crystal Bridges will host an opening lecture on September 13, followed by a celebratory festival on September 14. After Knowing the West closes at Crystal Bridges on January 27, 2025, it will travel to the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida, and the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. —Knowing the West: Visual Legacies of the American West
September 14-January 27, 2025
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
600 Museum Way, Bentonville, AR 72712, (479) 418-5700, www.crystalbridges.org
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