The American West Reimagined - Gems from the Coeur d'Alene Art Auction

In this landmark 528 page, 12.5 x 12.5 inches publication, Western American art historian Dr. Larry Len Peterson presents the sweeping story of the artists of the American West and their works in a fresh and enlightening tale. Western American art is a big tent, as expansive as the region’s history and land. It took birth in the nineteenth century in a time when Americans had an almost mythical belief and hope in the infinite potential of the West. The West was about making new, starting over, visions, myths, legends, dreams. This publication is divided into six parts: Part I. The Romantics: Nineteenth Century Artists in the World of Manifest Destiny and Darwinism; Part II. The Nostalgic: Charles M. Russell; Part III. The Searchers: Twentieth Century Artists Embrace the Mythology of the American West, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Hollywood; Part IV. The Sun Worshipers: The New Mexico Artists; Part V. The Storytellers: Illustrators, Sporting Artists, and Others; and Part VI. The Master: Howard Terpning. For two centuries, Western American art has defined who we were, who we are, and who we will be as Westerners. That’s a daunting task, and the challenge has resulted in kaleidoscopic adventures of starts and stops and changes in direction—much like shifting shadows. Peterson accompanies 560 spectacular color illustrations—the best of 10,000 auction lots, holding over 150 world records—with introductory essays to each Part, along with accompanying profiles of 120 artists to provide a unique view of the artists’ historical and cultural milieu—a view at once panoramic and intimate. In the end, Western American art is not one art. It has many regions, styles, and forms, telling a complicated American story. It is a crazy quilt of Americana as diverse as country music. It’s never one thing and can be joyful, sad, and everything in between—captured rather than painted. Touching through time, Western American art makes hope and the West rhyme.