Different Travellers, Different Eyes: Artists’ Narratives of the American West, 1820–1920 ed. by Peter Wild, Donald A. Barclay, James H. Maguire

Abstract

1 0 2 WAL 3 8 .1 S PR IN G 2 0 0 3 writing in the McCarthy vein, and a who’s who of McCarthy scholars (with complete bibliographic citations provided). There is even a section dedicated to web sites and online discussion forums. Who could resist , especially when it includes breaking news and translations of the Spanish language passages in the southwestern works? While there is, oddly, no formal bibliography, the sheer amount of informa­ tion contained here—from the number of weeks All the Pretty Horses was on the New York Times Bestsellers List to the handful of critics who panned the novel to the inside scoop on the film—makes this inexpensive, little book a terrific buy. Different Travellers, Different Eyes: Artists’ Narratives of the American West, 1820-1920. Editors Peter Wild, Donald A. Barclay, and james H. Maguire. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 2001. 276 pages, $18.95. Reviewed by Matthew Stiffler U tah State University, Logan The twenty-one artists represented in this volume “knew the frontier West first hand and each consciously chose to depict it both in words and images” (viii). From the first line of the introduction through all of the editor’s remarks before each selection, it is clear that Different Travellers, Different Eyes is not an art-history book, but a collection of writings by a field of diverse artists identified by the editors as mythmakers, either reluctant or willing, of the American West (ix). From Alfred Jacob Miller’s “historically nonpareil” depictions of the Rocky Mountains to Emily Carr’s writings and contributions to modem art, these artists, whether through their paintings, drawings, or photographs, helped shape a national portrait of the West (30). But as the editors note, “we sometimes find that what these artists say and what they paint are two different things” (vii). Most of the written selections here were taken from journal entries, where lack of audience expectations accounts for many of the discrepancies between the artists’ written impressions of the West and those sold and displayed in art galleries and popular magazines. In contrast to his journal, John James Audubon’s paintings and drawings rarely depicted the “poor, miserable devils” of the Mandan village that he visited in St. Louis (44). The textual image of “an Indian wrapped in a dirty blanket, with only his filthy head peeping out” never made it to canvas (45). Even though his journal writings were severely edited by his granddaughter before publication, they give the reader a richer view of Audubon’s visions of the West. The selection in this volume, for instance, demonstrates his sensitivity to the slaughtering of the buffalo. Furthermore, evi­ dent between his harsh portrayals of the Native Americans is a sense of pity for the Indians’ plight: “If our Congress will not allow our traders to sell whiskey or rum to the Indians, why should not the British follow the same rule? Surely the British, who are so anxious about the emancipation of the blacks, might as well take care of the souls and bodies of the redskins” (55). Perhaps Audubon’s per­ BO O K R E VIE W S 1 0 3 ceptions were “distorted by the cultural viruses of racism and sexism,” as the editors suggest (xi). It is fitting, though, that the title of this book is taken from Audubon’s selection where he writes, “But different travellers have different eyes!” (44). As a traveler with scientific endeavors, his words record a fuller pic­ ture of his experiences than his art could have ever achieved. Other artists in the edition include Edward S. Curtis, whose exaggerated though engaging account of his western ethnographic journeys among Native Americans was originally published in Scribner’s Magazine in 1906, “as the old life [Curtis] sought to capture on film was fast fading” (237). Mary Hallock Foote’s personal narratives of a transplanted mining engineer’s wife contrast greatly with the overstated photography and writings of Curtis. The selections from Father Nicolas Point offer a compelling narrative of his travels as a Jesuit missionary. All artists in Different Travellers, Different Eyes contributed to the myth of the West through their...