The Antiquarium in Brownville, Nebraska, will present a special historic art exhibition, Native American Presence on the Missouri. The exhibit includes 30 prints and photographs drawn from private collections in the Midwest. These prints and photographs document and illustrate the early historic presence of the Plains Indians along the Missouri and the heartland prairie.
Print selections include chromolithographs from Geo. Catlin’s “North American Indian Portfolio” and the vivid masterwork aquatints from the internationally acclaimed book, “Travels in the Interior of North America,” between 1832 and 1834 by Karl Bodmer. Together, these beautifully illustrated historic publications are some of the most important sociological and ethnological studies of the North American Indians of the time.
During the last half of the 19th century, with much public interest and curiosity of the western frontier of the United States, newspaper publications such as “Harper’s Weekly,” “Leslie’s Illustrated” and the “Illustrated London News” hired artists, such as William Cary, H.F. Farney and Frederic Remington, to travel “west” to illustrate events and activities with particular interest in capturing the exotic images of Native Americans. These descriptive graphic images were precursors to today’s photojournalism in practice. Their artistic engravings brought to life many aspects of early frontier life and preserved living manners, customs and characters of the Native American culture that otherwise might have remained virtually unknown.
The United States government commissioned Frank Rinehart Studio to photograph the leaders and members of the Native Americans who attended the Indian Congress at the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition held in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1898. Rinehart’s Native American photographs portray them with beauty, dignity and strength of expression instead of the traditional detached ethnographic records.
A broad spectrum of Native American subjects, which include portraits, genre scenes and ethnographic illustrations are represented by varied media of chromolithographs, wood and steel engravings, aquatints by Karl Bodmer, Geo. Catlin, William M. Cary, Currier and Ives, H. F. Farney, Charles Graham, A. Huttula, G. Laplante, Fredric Remington and. Frank Rinehart.
It is hoped that this special historic presentation of Native American Presence on the Missouri will serve to remind us of the lasting rich cultural history and valued contributions of the “First Americans” of this continent.
Native American Presence on the Missouri will be on display at the Antiquarium, 309 Water Street in Brownville from May 5 to June 20 on Saturdays and Sundays, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Admission is free. For information or off-hour showing, call Dale Dickkut a 660-744-4646.
