Knowing the West: Visual Legacies of the American West
Knowing the West embraces and reexamines perceptions of the American West to create more inclusive and complex dialogues. The exhibition reflects the diverse perspectives that have contributed to art and life in the region. Presenting Native American works together with art by non-Native makers, it reveals how the stories we tell and the visual language we employ influence understanding of our nation’s history and cultures.
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Knowing the West is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, and co-curated by Mindy N. Besaw and Jami C. Powell with influence and input from a curatorial advisory council.
In Raleigh additional support is made possible, in part, by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation, Inc.; and the William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment for Educational Exhibitions. Research for this exhibition was made possible by Ann and Jim Goodnight/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Curatorial and Conservation Research and Travel.
Artist once known (Nimiipuu [Nez Perce]), Saddle Blanket (detail), circa 1885, wool, glass beads, Chinese coins, 40 × 48 in. (sight), National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1983.06.12