Native Americans: A Portrait : The Art and Travels of Charles Bird King, George Catlin, and Karl Bodmer [Hardcover]

Robert J. Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

The work of Charles Bird King, George Catlin, and Karl Bodmer looms large in the field of history, ethnology, and anthropology. No serious study of American Indian people can be undertaken without reference to it, and yet the names of these three men are largely unknown to the general public. Although King, Catlin, and Bodmer worked independently of one another, they were united in a singular vision: all were dedicated to preserving the various cultures of American Indian people through their artwork and writings. Native Americans: A Portrait presents for the first time in one volume a major selection of the original drawings, paintings, and lithographs by these three artists. More than 300 striking full-color reproductions take the reader to the American frontier to experience Indians in their original environment - performing religious ceremonies, hunting buffalo, engaging in bloody battles, and simply living their lives. Also included are dozens of magnificent portraits of the most prominent Indian leaders of the day. The accompanying text by noted scholar Robert J. Moore, Jr., describes the powerful political currents of the 1830s that led to the forced removal of the Indian tribes, while original quotes from the artists themselves offer invaluable insights into nineteenth-century white American culture.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 279 pages
• Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556706162
• ISBN-13: 978-1556706165
• Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 10.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #638,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those interested in the Anmerican Indian Civilisation, May 23, 2009

By 

RW Beard (London, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Native Americans: A Portrait : The Art and Travels of Charles Bird King, George Catlin, and Karl Bodmer (Hardcover)

This is a unique snapshot view of the American Indians between 1820 - 1840 provided by fine portraits of their leaders, the life they lived and text describing their problems with the ever increasing number of white settlers who occupied their land. For anyone who is interested in an authentic snapshot of the life of these people, this book is highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and impressive, June 22, 2011

By 

Tommie L. Marsters (Poulsbo, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Native Americans: A Portrait : The Art and Travels of Charles Bird King, George Catlin, and Karl Bodmer (Hardcover)

This "coffee table"-size book is a collection of leading Native Americans just prior to the complete disruption of the lives and cultures of America's original peoples. The (mostly) men are dressed in their finest, as people do when having their portraits painted. Very important is the "revelation" that not all "Indians" dressed in the buckskins and feathered headdresses of the more popular Plains tribesmen of the movies. The Creek, for example, dressed in cotton tunics, leggings and turbans.

The artists -- the best of their era --did not mix art with politics. It mattered not that some of the men had been labeled as heroes, villains, chiefs, etc. by whites (depending on what they had read or experienced).

The paintings are large, colorful and arresting. Many of the originals were lost in a fire, and many originals and copies are in private homes or collections with restricted access. Thanks to those who compiled this marvelous book, anyone can see and admire much of which has been lost forever.