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As anyone who’s read this blog over the years knows, I’m a fanatic for the frontier west. I love reading books on western history (there are several reviewed on this blog) as well as writing about the artists who captured the frontier before the major influx of Europeans to America.
Among my favorite artists are George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, Albert Bierstadt, and Frederic Remington. While Bodmer and Catlin captured the frontier of the early 19th century, later artists like Bierstadt and Remington painted (and sculpted) the iconic west of cowboys, Indians, and the grand western landscape.
Once in awhile, I’m lucky enough to run across museums that focus on western art and American Indian art. One is the museum in Roswell, New Mexico (surprised?); the other is the Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas. The Stark Museum of Art is part of the Stark Foundation, an organization developed to improve the quality of life in Southeast Texas by encouraging, promoting and assisting education, the arts, and health and human services.
In addition to the outstanding collection of western art, the Stark Museum of Art collections also include American Indian Art, Decorative Arts, and Rare Books and Manuscripts. While the Decorative Arts collection features glass and porcelain (including Steuben glass), one of the most impressive holdings is the only complete set of The United States in Crystal, a series of bowls engraved with scenes representing each of the 50 states as well as Puerto Rico and the Union.
The American Indian holdings feature arts from tribes across the continent, including the Eastern Woodlands, New Mexico Pueblo tribes, Northwest Coast, and tribes of the Great Plains. Among the most valuable items in the Rare Books and Manuscripts collection are five double elephant folios depicting the birds of North America, which belonged to James John Audubon.
Looking for an educational adventure for the whole family this summer? Pop over to Orange, Texas and revel in it’s jewel — the Stark Museum of Art.
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- Little Known History: The Beginning of Slavery
- The Old Sergeant Series
- A Violent and Untimely End for Meriwether Lewis
Stumble it!
