Knowing the West
SEP 14, 2024 – JAN 27, 2025
How do you know the West? Step into a landscape of untold stories with Knowing the West.
Knowing the West: Visual Legacies of the American West is the first major traveling exhibition to embrace and examine how people see the American West. It aims to tell a more inclusive story and show the diverse groups who shaped the art and life of the West.
Americans know the West in many ways, from Hollywood images to personal experience, with every perspective a thread in a tapestry of voices. Knowing the West goes beyond the stereotypical scenes, showcasing essential and often overlooked stories of the West through art, including those of Native American artists, women, and many more.
The art of the American West tells stories of persistence through innovation, adaptability, and resistance. Native American artists, in particular, have used art to transform, adapt, and challenge dominant structures.
Knowing the West: Visual Legacies of the American West will be on view September 14, 2024 – January 27, 2025, at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas; March 26 – August 31, 2025, at Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida; and May 2, 2026 – August 9, 2026, at North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The exhibition is co-curated by Mindy N. Besaw, PhD, curator of American art at Crystal Bridges, and Jami C. Powell, PhD, Osage Nation, associate director of curatorial affairs and curator of Indigenous art at the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College.
Digital Ad Images
Maria Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo, 1887-1980), Julian Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo, 1879-1943), Storage Jar, 1926, clay and paint, 16 in. x 18 3/4 in. Courtesy of the School for Advanced Research. Indian Arts Fund purchase for the permanent collection, 1928. Photography by Addison Doty.
Artist once known, Nimíipu (Nez Perce), Saddle Blanket (detail), c. 1885, wool, glass beads, Chinese coins, 37 in. x 59 in. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City.
Dorothy Brett (American, born England, 1883-1977), Desert Indian, 1932/1937, oil on canvas, 40 in. x 40 in. Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM. James Hart Photography.
Nellie Two Bear Gates (Iháƞktȟuƞwaƞna Dakhóta, Standing Rock Reservation, 1854-1935), Suitcase, 1880-1910, bead, hide, oilcloth, thread, 12 1/2 in. x 17 11/16 in. x 10 1/4 in. Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN. The Robert J. Ulrich Works of Art Purchase Fund. Photo: Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Artist once known, Plateau, Cornhusk Bag, ca. 1900, natural and dyed cornhusk, hemp, and commercial yarn, 18 in. x 14 1/2 in. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO. Gift of Peter and Barbara Gattermeir, 2016.77.33. Image courtesy Nelson-Atkins Media Services. Photo: Gabe Hopkins.
Eda Sterchi (American, 1885-1969), A Pueblo (Taos), 1919, oil on canvas, 30 1/8 in. x 25 1/4 in. Denver Art Museum, Funds from the DAM Westerners. Photography © Denver Art Museum.
Sponsors
