Wild Spaces, Open Seasons: Hunting and Fishing in American Art

An oil painting of a man standing on rocks while fishing in a treacherous sea.
October 7, 2017–January 7, 2018
Second floor

This is the first major exhibition to explore the multifaceted meanings of such outdoor subjects in both painting and sculpture from the early 19th century to World War II. These aesthetically rich and culturally important works play an influential role in the history of American art.

American artists’ fascination with depicting hunting and fishing was often informed by their own experiences as practitioners and was more than merely a way of commemorating outdoor traditions. Approximately 60 paintings and sculptures—some of the finest examples of American art—illuminate changing ideas about place, national identity, community, wildlife, and the environment, offering compelling insights into socioeconomic issues and cultural concerns. Capturing a communion with nature that was becoming increasingly scarce, many artists alluded to the country’s burgeoning industrialization and urbanization.

This exhibition encompasses a wide variety of portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and genre scenes, including iconic works by Thomas Cole, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, as well as key pictures by specialists in the category such as Charles Deas, Alfred Jacob Miller, William T. Ranney, and Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait. In addition, it sheds new light on modernist interpretations of these subjects by George Bellows and Marsden Hartley, among others.

George Bellows

The Fisherman, 1917

Oil on canvas

2016.9

An oil painting of a man standing on rocks while fishing in a treacherous sea.

Winslow Homer

A Huntsman and Dogs, 1891

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of a White boy resting a foot on a log, a dead deer slung over his shoulders and carrying a rifle, as two dogs run near him.

Charles M. Russell

The Buffalo Hunt [No. 39], 1919

Oil on canvas

1961.146

A dynamic painting of Native American men on horseback hunting a herd of bison.

John George Brown

Claiming the Shot: After the Hunt in the Adirondacks, 1865

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of a group of White men, all wearing hunting gear, around a dead deer on an autumn day.

Albert Bierstadt

The Trappers, Lake Tahoe, ca. 1889

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of two people in a canoe at the shore of a lake, mountains in the background, under a cloudy sky at either sunset or sunrise.

Thomas Eakins

Pushing for Rail, 1874

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of three sets of hunters on a reedy marsh hunting for waterfowl.

William Merritt Chase

The Pot Hunter (The Road through the Fields; The Hunter), ca. 1894

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of a dirt road cutting through a colorful prairie landscape under a cloudy sky, and a human figure wearing black standing just off the road.

William Sidney Mount

Eel Spearing at Setauket, 1845

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of a White boy paddling a canoe, a small dog seated next to him, as a standing Black woman holds a spear above the water.

Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait

A Tight Fix – Bear Hunting, Early Winter [The Life of a Hunter: A Tight Fix], 1856

Oil on canvas

An oil painting of a snarling bear sitting on the snowy ground about to attack a White hunter dressed in deerskins, also on the ground, as another hunter behind a tree aims his rifle.

Alexander Pope

The Wild Swan, 1900

Oil on canvas

A realistic oil painting of a dead white swan hanging on a wall, head down and wings outstretched.

Wild Spaces, Open Seasons is accompanied by the exhibitions Caught on Paper and Hugh the Hunter.

Installation Photos

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From the Shop

Wild Spaces Open Seasons: Hunting and Fishing in American Art Softcover

Tracing the theme of hunting and fishing in American art from the early 19th century through World War II.

"Wild Spaces, Open Seasons" exhibition catalogue cover.
All Exhibitions
Wild Spaces, Open Seasons: Hunting and Fishing in American Art has been organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Joslyn Art Museum, and Shelburne Museum. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The local presentation is supported by BNSF Railway Foundation, Christie’s, Collectors Covey, Fort Worth Promotion and Development Fund, Joan and Walker Friedman, Karen and Tim Hixon, Julie and Scott Kleberg, Kleinheinz Family Foundation for the Arts and Education, Luther King Capital Management, Beth and Ron Parrish, Martha M. and J. Kent Sweezey, and Wells Fargo.