Thursday, April 2, 2015

Art of the of the American West. Irving R. Bacon. 2015 A-Z Challenge



            The Conquest of the Prairie. Irving R. Bacon. (1875-1962)

.   Dover Publications, Inc.
Indians watch silently as the long lines of covered wagons come through their land. A scout leads the way, a protector of the settlers.  A herd of buffalo between them, whose existence will also disappear, along with the Indians is another symbol.
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"The old Wild West is fast disappearing and the young artists will have it only in history."  Irving R. Bacon.


Irving R. Bacon was born in Fitchberg, Massachusetts in 1862 and received his early art training in the Art School of the Detroit Museum of Art. His early work was illustrations and cartoons reflecting his travels in the American West. his talent was said to have rivaled Remington and Russell.  In 1902 he studied in New York at the Chase School of Art and worked for Harper's Weekly and McClures Magazine. Still trying to learn more, he studied at the Royal Academy in Munich.  Then his focus changed when he returned to Detroit and sold a painting to Henry Ford.  In 1913 he was an employee of the Ford Motor Company painting scenes and portraits of Ford's family and friends, including Noah Webster, Luther Burbank, Mark Twain George Washington Carver, Stephen Foster, Thomas Edison and others. Bacon's interest in photography and motion pictures led him to become head of Ford Motor Company's photographic department.

Bacon bridged two historic time periods.  His early paintings of the Indians of the American West and then his further work with Henry Ford, meeting the movers and the shakers of new inventions and scientific discoveries and the celebrities of the 20th century must have been challenging and never dull. He worked for Ford for 30 years and retired in 1948.  He died in 1962 in Florida at the age of 87.




20 comments:

  1. Wow he's from Fitchburg? That's neat. Great painting......'manifest destiny' sure decimated the Native Americans and the buffalo in a very short period of time.

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  2. We are lucky to have these paintings to show how our country developed, not always in a good way. Thanks for your comment. Love your photograph!

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  3. I knew nothing of but his name and some of his work before reading this. Really interesting, I'm glad I dropped by! Thanks so much for your kind words on my story.

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    1. Your photographs of your travels are wonderful. I will visit often to have a "travel fix."

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  4. I absolutely LOVE the picture of the glacier at the top of your blog! :) I've cruised to Alaska a couple of times, and I just think it's beautiful.

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    1. Wasn't an amazing trip? I would go back in a minute

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  5. Hi Nat - fascinating to see that he recorded the landscape with the Indians still the rightful owners and then the transition across to factory work, and heading up the photographic section at Ford. He must have had such an interesting life - with such a great history in his art works - paintings, drawings, photographic prints et al .. and as you say it's so fortunate it's all been maintained as a record .. cheers Hilary

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    1. So many of the artists did bridge two centuries with such sweeping changes. Thanks Hilary.

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  6. A truly great painting and a painter who I would come across normally. I shall come back to see more of your A-Z.

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    1. Hi Bob: Thanks for reading this post. I always admire artists who can draw/paint horses like this one.

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  8. Another great painting. I don't know all the dates, would he have been aware of what happened to the buffalo and the Indians? The white man has a lot to atone for.

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    1. I think so. The painting seems to be sympathetic to the Indians. They seem helpless about what was to come.

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  9. Great that he captured a moment in time and a sight we don't see anymore.

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  10. People would shoot buffalo from trains. There were huge herds, but no more. I don't think that the Indians shot Buffalo for sport, but for food and hides. Ah the "Wild West."

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  11. Every time I see Indians I'm saddened. I think I would have made a good Indian. Love the painting.

    Bushman
    2015 A to Z Challenge Ambassador
    @jwb81074

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  12. No, it wasn't Indians who slaughtered buffalo in huge numbers. It was whites like William Cody.

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  13. Excellent choice for your A to Z! Lovely painting...
    Cat

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  14. It's a very sad picture really. There is a feeling or forlorn acceptance by the Indians.
    I suppose those pioneers must have been pretty brave even so.

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  15. It's a painting I've never seen before and a period in history I've always wanted to learn more about. Maybe one day I will.

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