Customer Reviews

Painting the Wild Frontier: The Art and Adventures of George Catlin

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This beautiful book reminded me why I loved well-told biographies as a child and still do. Reich's story and Catlin's art have the power to make a chunk of American history absolutely unforgettable.

In the foreword to PAINTING THE WILD FRONTIER, Reich describes Catlin as providing an "informed outsider's viewpoint," telling us that "he clearly worked hard to express it with a high degree of integrity." His victories and mistakes provide insight for modern-day artists and writers striving for integrity as we cross boundaries to tell stories.

Essentially, a biographer is always an informed outsider, and Reich, who wrote another excellent book about José Limón, is passionate about meticulous research. To write this book, for example, she studied 19th-century portraiture, landscape, and genre painting, the history of art patronage, and the evolution of 18th- and 19th-century aesthetic philosophies. Among other topics, she researched Native American cultures and the settlement of the West, as well as the interaction of Europeans and indigenous peoples in South America and the principles of anthropology.

The result of her commitment to excellence in research and storytelling is this highly recommended book.

This book is a very readable blend of pictures and text. As a collector of Catlin works, this book was helpful to me.....it filled in some gaps in my knowledge of the artist and his work.

Easy to read but includes all critical details of Catlin's extrodinary, tragic, and ultimately redemptive life. This book is a terrific resource for middle school students and adults who what to learn more about a painter who saved our history.