Voices of the West
2020-02-04 to 2020-07-03
Americans’ understanding of the history of the American West, including that of the Great Plains, has been significantly shaped by novels, movies, and television Westerns. These narratives often leave out the voices of the region’s Indigenous inhabitants, women, and other groups. This selection of works from the museum’s collection offers a more critical perspective on the historic and modern American West. Images by American Indian artists, for example, address the displacement of Native peoples and the challenge of maintaining cultural traditions. Other artworks highlight the idealization of the Western landscape as well as its overdevelopment. Still other works reassess the iconic status of historical Western figures.