Monday, March 23, 2015

American Western Art 19th and 20th Century. The 2015 Blog Challenge Reveal

Among the Sierra Nevada Mountians.  Albert Bierstadt. (1830-1902)   Dover Publications, Inc. 
The theme for my blog challenge is American Western art from the 19th and 20th Century.  Imagine the explorers. adventurers, and early settlers, seeing the Western area of the Northern Hemisphere for the first time:  the vastness of the land, miles and miles of untouched forests, plains, unusual rock formations, and the peoples who lived there, the Indians.

The artists who depicted what they saw were the early photographers of the West, but of course they could and did embellish what they saw through an artists eye and point-of-view. 

In 1883 the historian, Frederick Jackson Turner in a lecture, entitled, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History."  His premise was that the existence of an area of free land had defined American society with the essential peaceful occupation of a largely empty continent and creation of a unique American identity.  Another view of this frontier is William Cody, also known as "Buffalo Bill."  His Wild West was one of conquest, taking the continent from the Indians.  "The hero of Turner's story is the farmer who overcame the wilderness with the ax and the plow. The hero of Buffalo Bill's story is the scout who overcame the Indians with the rifle and bullet."

Through these paintings, you will see both points of view, with much sympathy and admiration for the Indians. I am using the term "Indians" since that was the term used during those years.

36 comments:

  1. Hi Nat - I'm going to love these ... it will be fascinating and will take me on a journey along a path i know little about - painting and art ... such a great theme .. cheers Hilary

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  2. Thanks, Hilary. Doing these challenges also helps me learn. Since this kind of art is unique to the United States, I thought it might be interesting.

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  3. I am not sure what a “blog challenge” is, but I do like Albert Bierstadt. I saw his paintings in several museums and for years we had a huge poster in the den showing his painting of Yosemite. I like all the Hudson River School painters, too.

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  4. Beginning April 1st, bloggers pick a theme and post every day except Sunday beginning with the first letter of the Alphabet through all 26. So I will start with Kenneth Miller Adams, using the artists last names. If you click on the sunflower on the top of the right hand column, that will take you to the web site for more information. Sign up and start the fun. I would love your input on my blog in April.

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  5. A post every day? Impossible for me – I can barely manage one every 3 weeks or so. It is a nice idea but I have so many photos, trips, etc., that I need to post that it will be years before I can do something different. I’ll look at your posts, though.

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  6. Anything you can add about the artists or the paintings will be great. Thank you.

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  7. Thanks, Jeff. Since you are part of the movers and shakers of this challenge, I have a question. How does one do the "circle thing"? I would put a comment somewhere, but don't quite know how.

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  8. This will be as fascinating as your A to Z last year when I learned so much. I know little about the kind of art you are going to be presenting. This picture is gorgeous for a start.

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  9. I am learning as I go, Jo, as I research the artists and the paintings. We will have fun with this challenge.

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  10. Thank you for your visit to my blog! I love your header pic as well and I'm your newest follower. Looking forward to your A-Z as I LOVE Western art. I'm a huge fan of the Hudson River School artists that painted the American west.

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    1. I am looking forward to sharing what I have, but please visit and help me with comments and insights.

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  11. Fascinating theme!! Good luck with it!

    betty

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    1. Thanks, Betty. There are so many artists but only 26 letters, hard to choose. And of course there are none with last letters beginning with Q and X.

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  12. Those paintings must have made a huge impression on people who'd never seen the places featured.

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    1. I think they will. I do, as all of us, have readers in other countries,so it will be fun to see who is interested. Thanks for your comment Patsy.

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  13. Wow! This will be a really beautiful theme :)

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
    MopDog - The crazy thing about Hungarians...

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    1. Thank you. I have 130 images, hard to choose, but I am looking forward to the challenge.

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  14. I have that exact picture hanging in my dining room! Good luck for the challenge!
    TheCyborgMom

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  15. It is a beautiful painting. Peaceful, just to look at it. Thanks for your comment.

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  16. What a lovely and historical theme! Looking forward to seeing you at the challenge!

    Julie

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  17. This sounds great. I don't know anything about these paintings so it will be great to see them and learn some history lessons.

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  18. Julie and Nick: Thanks for stopping by in cyberspace. I thought it might be interesting to show some of these paintings for those who don't live in what we call "The West." I am learning along with you.

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  19. I'm in - I have collected a couple of Western art pieces. Got you on my Feedly now ~

    http://thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-atoz-great-and-powerful-theme-reveal.html

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    1. Great, Tami. Love your blog, looking forward to April.

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  20. This a very underrated genre of art (at least, it is in Europe) which I really look forward to. Good luck! Incidentally one of my favourite US artists is Georgoa O'Keefe.
    Listening to 'English Rose' by The Jam. Very relaxing.....
    CLICK HERE for Bazza’s fabulous Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

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    1. Not everyone likes it, but living here in Colorado, I do. And there is so much history of the United States attached, some good, some not good. Thanks for the listening suggestions.

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  21. I am looking for a similar large painting of the period probably of the Hudson River, which was shown in New York?? as "the One Picture Show"?? i.e; revealed to a seated audience from behind a curtain. Does this ring any bells as I can't remember the artist's name or painting title. I thought you might be able to suggest a name. Thanks.

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    1. I would just give a call to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They can be very helpful. I tried the internet but no luck. Fun to do research though. Good luck.

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  22. Hello loverofwords :)

    I remember how much I love your username, as I used to have "lostforwords" as mine. It was the old banner title of my blog when it was still a journal blog. The URL remained the same but I have changed the banner title to "Connections to the World" when I revamped the content.

    I am happy to be back to blogging after 11 months of hiatus. A-Z Challenge should be enough motivation for the comeback! It's nice to see that you're doing the challenge again. I'll surely be checking out your posts as you have a very interesting theme.

    Have a great week ahead and see you around blogland.

    Cheers,
    Maria

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  23. Connections to the World is a great title. Sometimes it is good to take a hiatus, get new ideas, and new approaches to writing a blog. I will be checking in.

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  24. This sounds interesting. There is some great art in this genre.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

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  25. There are more examples than 26, Arlee, hard to choose. Thank you for being the "Wind Beneath Our Wings."

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  26. Excited for your theme! I love western art!

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  27. Thanks, Kate. I like the history behind the paintings, although not all of it was good.

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  28. Looking forward to the beautiful representations of a beautiful land.

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