Fort Worth, TX, July 14, 2009—On September 19, 2009, the Amon Carter Museum presents Views and Visions: Prints of the American West, 1820–1970. The exhibition, on view through January 10, 2010, showcases approximately 120 prints and illustrated books from the museum’s permanent collection. Admission is free.

American artists saw and experienced the western frontier in different ways and with varied perspectives. This exhibition features prints from the past two centuries, representing myriad views and visions of the American West.

“While the works will be arranged by subjects familiar to the viewer—nature, wildlife, native peoples, and non-native settlement—they will reflect broader aspects,” says Rick Stewart, the Carter’s senior curator of western paintings and sculpture and curator of Views and Visions.

“One of the most interesting features in the exhibition will be the juxtaposition of particular works,” Stewart continues, “sometimes made more than a century apart, that will show curious similarities or intriguing differences in artistic vision.”

Included in the exhibition are the first eyewitness renderings of Yosemite Valley, the summit of the Sierra Nevada, and the iconic Mountain of the Holy Cross. From these early landscapes and portraits of western denizens, the show progresses deep into the 20th century with works by Leonard Baskin, Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, and Grant Wood.

“As this exhibition will show, some American artists viewed the West in its mythic enlargement,” says Stewart, “while others attempted to infuse their mythic visions with a harsher reality. Yet even today, the appeal of the mythic vision of the American West remains widespread.”

Public Programs

Admission is free.

October 1, 6 p.m.
Gallery Talk: Printing the West
Dr. Rick Stewart, curator of western paintings and sculpture, and Dr. Ron Tyler, director, Amon Carter Museum
Picture the American West through the eyes of legendary artists like Leonard Baskin, Thomas Hart Benton, George Catlin, and Grant Wood, and investigate the themes that unite the works featured in the exhibition Views and Visions: Prints of the American West, 1820–1970.

November 8, 1–4 p.m.
Family Funday: Way Out West
Saddle up for fun with art! Artworks of the American West by artists such as Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell will come to life for families of all ages through engaging activities and exciting stories.

Family Fundays are made possible by Alcon.