Native American Art

In George Catlin’s portrait of William Fisk from 1849, Fisk is the focus of the painting while the Native American Indians are cast in dark shadows in the background. Fisk’s gaze is focused on something in the distance to the right of his body, while the Native Americans are staring at something in the opposite direction. The contrasts between light and dark in this painting are very profound and drastic because Fisk is illuminated in bright light, while the Natives behind him are more drowned out with darker colored pigments. The painting presents the issue of the introduction of the “white man” and his practices in Native American culture. Fisk seems to dominate the painting because he is the central focal point and the Native people are hiding in the background. The 19th and 20th centuries were times filled with the emergence of new ideas and cultural aspects into the lives and traditions of Native Americans. Fisk seems like the “master” or “teacher” in this painting because he is holding a paint brush and pallet, while also wearing clothing that seems to be more traditional Native American as opposed to Americanized clothing. Therefore, even though Catlin might be commenting on the influence, both negative and positive, that white people had on Native Americans, he is also commenting on the blending of the two cultures in terms of art and values. Fisk is not completely separate from these people because he is presenting art as a cultural and peaceful symbol, while also embracing some Native American traditions by wearing their clothing. The influences of white culture on Native American people were not completely negative because both groups of people were able to learn from one another and grow. This is seen in Catlin’s portrait of William Fisk because despite placing the white man in front of the Native Americans, he is also embracing their clothing styles and presenting a culmination of artistic skills and values.

The paintings in George Catlin’s Indian Gallery focus on many different aspects of Native American culture that are associated with American Realist themes and issues. The idea of the white man’s influence on Native American Indian culture and their lifestyles is further examined in “Wi-jún-jon, Pigeon’s Egg Head (The Light) Going to and Returning from Washington” from 1837-39 because of the contrasts between clothing for one Native American Man. On the left side of the painting, he is wearing traditional Native American dress that is beautiful and extremely detailed. On the right side of the painting, his outfit is transformed into a new culture because he is now wearing a white man’s suit and carrying with him accessories that were common for white men of the 19th century to have in their possession. The two depictions of this man are turned away from each other and Catlin seems to have literally separated these two outfits with a line down the center of the painting. The lighting is also lighter on the traditional American Indian side, while the colors seems to become gradually darker as this man changes into his “Americanized” form. This painting shows not only how cultural and traditional values were lost as the white man became more prominent in Indian society, but how these traditions were lost with simple things like clothing. Clothing and accessories say a lot about a people and what they value in terms of how they utilize resources for their well being and needs. This man in his “Indian form” seems to be looking back in the past at the way things used to be, while his “Washingtonian form” seems to be arrogantly fanning himself and smoking a pipe as he looks towards the future and what will soon be reality for his people and his culture.

Many of the paintings in George Catlin’s Indian Gallery are portraits of important Native American figures, like chiefs or medicine men, with only one portrait focusing on a woman. Different traditions are also portrayed, for example hunting buffalo, playing lacrosse, and processes of everyday life in general.

Women and Art

In Lilly Martin Spencer’s painting from 1869, “We Both Must Fade (Mrs. Fithian,)” this woman is presented as playful and innocent as she looks off to the side with almost concerned, yet interested eyes. The fact that she holds a small flower could symbolize her naïve character and touch upon how she still possesses her virginity, which would make her a symbol in society as someone who is ready to marry and move on to the next step in her life. Even the pedals are slowly falling and trickling down the side of her dress which shows how the flower is slowly wilting and falling apart. This might mean this young woman is restless in her current situation. This is interesting because it is common in American Realism that women are portrayed as having to rely on men, for example in Mary Wilkins Freeman’s story “The Revolt of Mother,” Mrs. Penn is forced to live under the dictations of her husband for decades because society has caused her to hold her tongue year after year. In this painting the artist seems to be commenting on how women were portrayed as objects that were only valued for beauty, riches and the fact that they were worth nothing until they were settled with their significant other. This girl looks as though her life is wasting away just like the flower she is holding because she has not been able to find a husband. The only objects near her are fancy furniture pieces, jewelry, and more flowers in a vase. This woman is more scantily dressed because her shoulders and arms are not covered, including the fact that her breasts are even illuminated because her cleavage in accentuated by a large broach in the middle of her chest. I found this aspect of the painting interesting because I did not think it was common for women of this era to show off the more private parts of their bodies.

The influence that men have on women’s lives in a prominent subject of many of the texts we have read in class and this painting is a good example of women being objectified for the pleasure of men and only appearing to be important or appreciated based off of their clothes, good looks, and innocent charm. Mary Cassatt’s painting “The Caress” from 1902 focuses on the motherhood aspect of the role of women in the 20th century. Women were looked at as only capable of being the caretakers of the home and the children. They were not trusted enough to be able to hold important positions in society, like their husbands were, because they were not superior enough to hold this responsibility. Many of the women we discussed have the main title or job of taking care of their husbands and family’s needs. Clearly the woman in this painting is being contemplative about her role as the mother of these two children. She is just barely holding her naked baby as she contorts her body on the mother’s chest. The mother does not look happy to be sitting where she is, which could suggest the unrest some women felt about their place in society at the time. Her other child is holding onto it’s baby sister and awkwardly kissing her cheek as she stares at her mother. The mother is very unengaged with her children almost like her children are literally and figuratively piling on top of her and masking her ability to be independent and create a new place for herself in society difficult because of the sanctions already established by her husband and the men who dominate the culture.

It is interesting to look at the differences between how women are portrayed in female artist’s paintings compared to the male artists. In Frederick Carl Frieseke’s painting “Nude Seated at Her Dressing Table” from 1909, he takes the bold approach at painting a woman completely in the nude. The painting is sensual and risky because the woman is looking back at Frederick in her mirror as she shows off her breasts by lifting her arms up and around her head to pull her long red hair back. This painting is different from the other paintings by the male artists in the gallery because it was one of the more controversial ones I found. The theme of nude portraits did not seem to be very popular among the male or female artists. Again this painting says something about how women were looked at and appreciated for a limited amount of things. This woman is not particularly thin and we might not even assume she is beautiful because it hard to make out the details of her face. On the other hand, her body is fully illuminated and protruding. This comments on how women could be used as sex objects if they were not married or held respectable places in society. The options for single, not well-off women were dismal throughout these times because they were looked at as not important, intelligent or strong enough to hold real jobs. So, sometimes the only thing they were good for was their bodies and their ability to please men through sexual favors. The interesting thing about this painting is that often women were masked by their husbands and their voices or options were silenced. It is ironic that this woman is making a statement and making her presence known through the use of her nude figure, even if she is not using her voice at all.

Men and Art

“Miners in the Sierras” by Charles Christian Nahl and August Wenderoth from 1851-52, presents men as hard-working and skillful individuals. We have read about how men are the breadwinners throughout most of the stories because it was their responsibility to support their families. Men were also the ones required and expected to do the hard and physical labor, such as mining or constructing new societal advancements like the railway systems. These men are sweating in the hot sun day after day to get the work done in order to support the lives they want to live. This makes it seems like men were the only ones in society who wanted to actually make improvements and use action in order to get things done. The little house in the background of this painting could be where the woman resides and works while the men do the hard work, because they need to take care of the home and the children. The men here seem motivated and focused because they are all engaged in their mining work; they are not slacking off or resting at all. This painting is also set in the wilderness, which shows how men took advantage of the natural resources available to them. They were trusted with these resources.

In Alonzon Chappel’s painting “Lee Surrendering to Grant at Appomattox” from 1870, men seem to be the serious creatures of society who have to deal with all the important aspects of war, government, and the way societies run themselves and conduct business. The men are all earnestly at work as they gather together to make an important wartime decision. Each person is dressed properly in stiff clothing. None of the men are engaged with one another because they appear to be deep in thought about what is currently going on around them and each person is in the process of going through different mental processes. This painting is very serious and matter of fact, which might go to say that many of the men throughout this time were the trusted leaders of society who ran every societal process. Women were not involved in any of these important decisions because the men were the only sex that was capable of organizing society in a way that was beneficial for everyone involved. Men were the ones who possessed the mental capacity and brainpower necessary to run every important part of the community.

Another interesting painting concerning men is “Little Soldier” by Eastman Johnson from 1864 because it shows a little boy who is dressed up in full military attire. The small boy is carrying a riffle that is bigger than his body and so heavy it looks as though it’s hard for him to walk easily and normally with this weapon. The boy is looking out to the side and up as he turns and walks up a hill-type formation. It looks like the boy is walking toward his calling and duty to society, which is to fight for his country in the army and risk his life for the betterment of society. This shows how it was thought that men had a calling and were supposed to be masculine and mature enough to go to war even at a very young age. It does not seem fair that people believed it was only the men’s responsibility to fight for their country, when I’m sure there were many women who felt strongly about political and foreign affairs with other nations. It is ironic that society felt it okay to send young boys abroad to fight, when many of them were so young they did not even understand what they were fighting for. This is depicted here because this boy cannot even hold the weapon he is supposed to use, which clearly shows he is not ready for the events to come.

Racism Explored

Controversies about race are depicted in Winslow Homer’s painting “A Visit from the Old Mistress” from 1876. This painting shows four slaves that are all women of different ages. Each slave woman is looking directly at the elderly mistress of the house who seems to be instructing the slaves about something they have to do or have done. It is interesting because the slave closest to the old mistress is at exactly the same level as the white woman, and is even bigger in the sense that she looks more powerful and strong than the white woman. As your eyes move to the left of the painting, the remaining women continue to become lower and lower than the white mistress, until the last girl is sitting down on a chair at the furthest point from the mistress. The painting depicts the white supremacy and the dominance that white people had over the African American race, even if the person in command was an elderly woman who was outnumbered by the slaves. It is interesting in this painting because the slaves are all different ages and yet they all posses they same countenance and interest in what the white woman is saying, as if they don’t dare lift a finger or break her gaze in the slightest. Even the baby that is being held by one of the older slave women is staring directly at her master, despite the fact that she most likely has no idea what is going on or being said. This shows the implications of slavery as it traces its way through many generations of people and how this horrible process throughout their entire lives inflicted this group of people. The baby and the oldest slave woman are both being instructed by the same person because that is what slaves had to deal with. The fact that their fate was settled for them from childhood all the way through adulthood and up until death is sinister and daunting. The only way for these people to truly be free is through death.

In Richard Norris Brooke’s painting “A Dog Swap” from 1881, the African Americans in the painting appear to live in shambles and filth. The men are sitting down trading their dogs, as if that is a very important aspect of their lives. The women and children in the painting are sitting or standing in a melancholic manner as if they are stuck without any free will in their current positions. The baby in crawling on the filthy ground wearing only a diaper and the whole scene seems very dismal in general. This painting suggests the social position that African Americans were stuck in throughout the 19th century and beyond. It is almost as if they did not have much purpose in society and had to resort to trivial things like trading dogs and standing thinking much about nothing. African Americans were not able to better their lives or receive any opportunity at a more meaningful existence and this is shown here by the unhappiness expressed in the faces of the people in the painting. Also, the fact that not a single person in this painting cares that they are sitting surrounded by dirt and that the baby is crawling around with no protection from this mess shows how in a sense many slaves lost hope. There was no point in caring anymore about cleanliness or basic health needs and risks because nothing would change the fact that they did not have control over their own lives and that the white people were the dominators in every situation.

My Favorite Piece!

One painting that caught my eye was Everett Shinn’s painting “The White Ballet” from 1904. This painting is whimsical and dark. The people are ghoul and ghost-like which was interesting to me because it makes the theater and the ballet seem like a place where you can let your imagination go and become a different person. This painting is not necessarily related to the different priorities of the American Realist period we have studied because it does not present life in a way that is realistic and not sugar coated. The women dancers have faces that are hard to make out because of the dark lighting and pigments in the painting. The women look like they are from a dream and are almost fairy like because they look like they are dancing out of the darkness and the abyss that is difficult to fully see or comprehend. There are so many dancers and they are all wearing the exact same tutus and moving in unison. I love how the women blend together on stages and yet when you zoom in on one of the girl’s faces, she looks individualistic and yet demonic at the same time. Her forehead is dark, but the bottom of her face is cast in light as her red lips shine out into the crowd and her smirk confuses the audience into thinking she has something to hide. The other people in the audience also look demonic or clown like because even the men are wearing thick makeup that makes them look more like characters than human beings. The audience is very engaged in what the dancers doing. They seem to be under a spell that these performers cast on them and in a trance over the beauty of their movement.

The picture looks like a snap shot of a dream that is commenting on beauty and the standards that society sets regarding appearance and beauty. These people do not look like human beings because they are trying to be people they are not. The dancers are in costume and are pretending to be characters that they are not for an audience full of wealthier individuals. Beauty and wealth can blind a person into becoming someone they are not and really affecting the way that others view them. The dancers are able to bring out the “fakeness” that the audience possess by bringing them into the performance and turning the audience into parts of the show to show how easily people can be swayed by looks and beauty. Is beauty truth? This painting asks this question along with in what ways does society blind people from recognizing the reality present in this world? Some people live in this dream world that is all about lies and people appearing to be things that they’re not.