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Essay explaining art historical significance
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Essay explaining art historical significance
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Fur Trade on the Missouri
Bingham’s emblematic image touches upon settlement, trade, the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, and the issue of race. The painting can be read from left to right, adding a horizontal linear aspect. From an ominous animal chained to the prow of the flat boat, to the multiracial boy reclined on a box of some sort, to a hunchbacked elderly man propped on the stern, the viewer’s eye is able to journey in a straight line through each major element presented in the artwork, showing the progression from beast to civilization. The old man having a grim expression carries the burden of having to balance the responsibility of maintaining his business while dealing with the integration of various peoples in his community. The main purpose of this image is to reflect the commonality of interracial marriages, specifically between Native American women and the white settlers, during the time of the fur trade (Bryant). The tone
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of this artwork is serene and lazy due to the dull colors used, the still water, and the posture of both males on the boat. The attitude of the artist towards the subject matter is accepting and wants viewers to realize that the intertwining of various cultures was common at the time. Bias may have influenced his art, due to the fact that Bingham lived in Missouri and was constantly surrounded by this area of interest, gaining personal connection and insight into to this idea of interracial relationships. Bingham’s well known masterpiece is one that captures the essence of frontier life. Historical Background and Connection to Art In George Caleb Bingham’s infamous painting, Fur Traders on the Missouri, the historical background of this artwork includes the fur trade of the 19th century.
American Indian nations traded along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers for many centuries before the arrival of Europeans (Brinkley, 115). Afterwards, European merchants traded manufactured goods with American Indian nations for furs. In regard to the painting, the extent of its historical accuracy is limited. The fur trade of the 1800s was far from calm, and the fact that the artist depicted this continuous act as relaxing is false. Although it is true that people traded along the Missouri River, the artist idealized the event of the fur trade, depicting it as more serene than in reality (Brackenridge). After viewing this image, the public’s opinion on the cultural integration during the time of the fur trade may have shifted, becoming more aware of its presence. The historical background of the painting includes the societal aspect of the fur trade during the
1800s. Social Issue Art The drawing that I have created is intended to emphasize the impact technology has on current society. Humans today are encapsulated within their devices and seem to be living in a virtual universe, unaware of their surroundings. Contrasting the dark phone screen to the wildness that surrounds the person shows all that the person is missing through their constant focus on the digital. Although advancements made in technology are truly remarkable in their ability to link the world together, it is important for people to find a balance between screens and reality.
She identifies that Caitlin saw it as an opportunity to show the audience the entertaining Wild West but also to assure people of the vanishing Indian threat. Some of the main work in the gallery (Portraits of Black Hawk and Osceola) were of leaders that lived east of the Mississippi, not in fact western like the Mandan’s. They were also imprisoned and not the free and wild men that Catlin was expressing. As Hight identifies the portrait of Osceola had a large impact in how his Indian paintings and gallery influenced the Indian Policy. Osceola died shortly after the portrait was drawn and was very sick while it was done. The portrait of him was depicted as a strong and healthy man when in fact he was the opposite. This supported that idea of the Vanishing Race Theory Through this observation Hight identifies that this was seen as entertainment and could make a large
In Taylor’s picture it is hard to tell the difference between male and females, and between the Native Americans and Pilgrims. Except for a few of the people on the outside who are shown with incredible detail, most of the people fade together and blur as a crowd. With most of the figures it is hard to differentiate between their faces. Taylor does this to make the narrative of the piece to focus on the treaty rather than focusing on the individual people who were involved in signing of the treaty. In Wolf’s picture it is easily to distinguish the different tribes and genders of the people. In fact, the majority of the people in the picture are women. This shows that in Native American culture values women in their society. He also separates the different tribes by using different colors of clothing. This allows the viewer to understand which tribe was directly involved in the treaty and which ones were simply watching. Wolf makes it clear that the actual people involved in the treaty should be the main focus of the
However, Richter establishes the notion of imagination in the reader’s mind to make up for the amount speculation he uses. Using the scarce amount of sources at his disposal, Richter writes about what likely happened during Euro-Indian contact. A prime example of this is Richter making a connection between European shipwrecks, evidence of nontraditional items in Native communities before European contact, and movement of Indian tribes to coastal areas. The author relies on what is known of Native people during the Mississippian Period, and European accounts of their travels to North America. Lack of primary sources becomes a strong point of the book, allowing Richter to use his historical prowess and imagination to channel an unknown world in Indian
Representational art work is resembling the natural world and abstract art shows objects in a basic style (Sayre, Pg. 26). While Taylor uses naturalism in his art work, Wolf uses symbols to show the Native American culture. Wolf’s art is two dimensional because it is flat. Wolf also uses many colors to represent the culture of Native Americans. The colors shown in the artist image is both primary and secondary colors, and is sketched on plain paper. Taylor’s image of the signing of the treaty shows the colors of black and white. Taylor used the highlight method which is going from lighter to darker color. The artist work is also three dimensional. Also, Wolf’s art work exhibited many women (Sayre, Pg. 41) and displays the attendance being majority Native Americas. In Taylor’s image there are no women presented (Sayre, Pg. 41), and indicates at the event there are more United States government there then Native
Beginning in the mid sixteenth century, French explorers were able to establish a powerful and lasting presence in what is now the Northern United States and Canada. The explorers placed much emphasis on searching and colonizing the area surrounding the St. Lawrence River “which gave access to the Great Lakes and the heart of the continent”(Microsoft p?). They began exploring the area around 1540 and had early interactions with many of the Natives, which made communication easier for both peoples when the French returned nearly fifty years later. The French brought a new European desire for fur with them to America when they returned and began to trade with the Indians for furs in order to supply the European demands. The Natives and the French were required to interact with each other in order to make these trades possible, and, over time, the two groups developed a lasting alliance. However, the French began to face strong competition in the fur trading industry, which caused many problems between different European nations and different native tribes. Therefore, the trading of fur allowed early seven- teenth century French explorers to establish peaceful relations with the Natives, however, com- petitive trading also incited much quarreling between competing colonies and Indian tribes.
...d Native Americas in a negative light, such as Carl Wimer’s Abduction of Daniel Boone’s Daughter, George Caleb Bingham’s Concealed Enemy, and Horatio Greenough’s The Rescue. These two paintings and statue in particular should be included because they depict the views of people in that era. The view of Native Americans was that of savagery. In the painting by Wimer the woman is depicted a fair skinned maiden, due to the white dress who is being brutishly taken away. The statue by Greenough, which depicts a man protecting his family from a savage Native American, was outside of the United States Capital for nearly a hundred years before it was taken down. These views of indigenous people during the 19th century have lasting impacts on our country. It is our job to tell the real story of what happened to the Native Americans as victims of our view of manifest destiny.
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. N.p., 2014. Print.
The painting tells us how unjust Bingham felt the election was, it shows us that the other candidate used cheap tricks like buying voters and trying to influence voters before they voted instead of having a fair election. Bingham masterfully used this painting to express his feelings toward the unruly election he also used this to teach us many problems that needed to be resolved if we were to have reasonable
Fur trading started between the Europeans along with the Aboriginals when the most valuable beaver pelts was a substituted for metal and clothing goods such as iron knives and axis, copper kettles, blankets and trinkets. The beaver pelts were well desired by the Europeans for the reason that using this fur for headgear provided an elegant way to keep dry. However these pelts were for fashion, as men and women could be instantly noted within the social hierarchy by according to their beaver hats. It was so valuable that the sand on the floor was filtered to save every hair that has fallen off. For the Europeans, captivating advantages of the rich furs from the Indians in the New World was a major factor in generating handsome profits, and there is no other pelt exchanging business enterprise like the Hudson's Bay Company. It is the oldest venture of Canada and it inspired many by its domination in the fur trading industry during its early years. They equipped their own armies, minted its own coins and even issued its own medals. The company had controlled fully one-third of present-day Canadian territory and were thought by many as a kingdom by itself in the fur industry. They had trading posts from the very north Arctic Ocean to Hawaii and as far south as San Francisco. HBC's revenue didn't generate simply from this one way trade in furs to Europe; it also consists of large amounts of European goods to North America. These goods incorporated many other products that local people cannot construct such as gunpowder, bullets, weapons, tobacco, kettles, pots, beads, fishing hooks, needles, scissors, and so much more. The Hudson's Bay Company showed a great measure of success since its formation, but it didn't come without s...
The stress of this caused their once coveted friendship to wither and morph into an ill hatred. The English began a campaign of the demonization of Native Americans. The image of Native Americans was described in Red, White, & Black as friendly traders who shared a mutually beneficial relationship with one another. Evidently, a very different image started to appear when land disputes arose. The new illustration the English painted was that Native American people were “comparable to beasts” and “wild and savage people, that live like heards of deare in a forrest”. It was sudden change of heart between the two societies that supports Waterhouse’s claims of the changing relationship of the English and Native
Aboriginal women had occupied an essential position in the fur trade of the North American region from its birth during the 17th and 18th centuries. Even though this is true, the role of women, especially those of the Native American society, has been ignored a great deal in the entire history of fur trade. Contrary to the belief that the whole fur trade activity was only male-dominated, it very much depended upon Native women and their participation and labor in order to ensure survival as well as economic success. This paper will attempt to illuminate how Native women played the role as important producers when it comes to fur trade of the American Plains and, of course, the Canadian region. This paper will also deal with the two important company's namely the North West and Hudson's Bay Company and tell how each functioned during the time of fur trade. The term “fur traders” is the term often used to described anyone who was interested in the traffic of furs. The traditional picture has been that of a male in buckskin shirt and a raccoon cap, dispensing alcohol and trinkets to gullible savages, in turn for the quality furs worth 10 times their value.
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...
Romance by Thomas Hart Benton is made with mediums of tempera and oil varnish glazes on gesso panel on board and is 45 1/4 inches by 33 1/4 inches. In this essay, I am going to discuss Benton’s use of composition, color, and texture to create a tranquil mood. When I first looked at this painting I pictured it taking place during the civil rights era, because of the clothing that the people in this painting are wearing. To me, this painting tells the story of a man and a woman taking a casual walk at the end of a work day. The man looks as if he just got out of work and decided to take off his shoes, roll up his sleeves and the bottom of his jeans, and unbutton the top button of his shirt and take a walk with his wife through the grass to talk
...n Tan repeatedly uses this technique to emphasize the contrast between the natives and the settlers. This does not only suggest to the reader a connection the natives have with their land but that they have a greater sense of belonging.
Grant Wood’s American Gothic is one of the most famous paintings in the history of American art. The painting brought Wood almost instant fame after being exhibited for the first time at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1930. It is probably the most reproduced and parodied works of art, and has become a staple within American pop-culture. The portrait of what appears to be a couple, standing solemnly in front of their mid-western home seems to be a simplistic representation of rural America. As simple as it sounds, when looking deeper into this image, it reveals something much more complex.