American Indians : Art & Travels of Charles Bird King

In the early 19th century little was known in Europe about the culture and customs of the indigenous American peoples. The difficulties of travel and the wildness of the American West made visits to the tribes as uncommon as Space Shuttle trips are today. "Indians" were perceived by European-Americans as a backward and savage race, which should be pushed aside to make way for "progress" Considering such contemporary attitudes, the amazing artistic and historic achievements of three artists of that era seem all the more remarkable today. The work of King, Catlin and Bodmer looms large in the fields of history, ethnology and anthropology. No serious study of the American Indian people can be undertaken without reference to their work. This book presents in one volume a major selection of over 300 original drawings, painting and lithographs, collected as eyewitness records of the historic meeting of the artists and the Indians, face to face.