Welcome!
Welcome to the Episode 120 page of Ramping Up your English. I appreciate your visit. This episode is all about the painters who travelled the West to capture realistic images of Native Americans before the United States became such an overpowering presence.
Watching Episode 120
I hope you enjoyed watching Episode 120 of Ramping Up your English on RVTV Voices. If you missed it, or just want to see it again, click here to see the entire episode on archive.org.
Episode 120 Summary
From the earliest days of Europeans in America, artists have rendered representations of Native Americans. Early works seem very crude and inaccurate, yet some artists endeavored to improve upon this, striving for greater accuracy by actually meeting the subjects of their works.
By the early 1800’s, some artists hurried to the American West to capture images of American Indians before the expansion of the United States changed their life-ways. Painter George Catlin was the earliest of these. He was determined to record reality of Native American life and individuals before they passed away. Catlin included an early version of ethnology through his writings. He made numerous trips out west, splitting his time between living and working in Indian Country and attempting to sell his work through exhibitions in Eastern cities and in England and France.
Catlin was not alone, although his single-minded sense of mission resulted in total dedication to that mission. Other artists followed, some inspired by Catlin’s determination to capture something of Native American life before it changed. Karl Bodmer, Alfred Jacob Miller, Albert Bierstadt, Paul Kane, Charles William Jefferys, Charles Bird King, Frederick Remington, and Charles S. Russel are better-known artists who pursued this mission over a period of time reaching well into the 20th Century.
Personal Note
As producer of this unit on Native Americans, I struggled to find visual content. Events affecting American Indians occurred so many years ago, and I could only include so many interviews – as wonderful as many of them were. For visual interest, I relied heavily on images from these artists. I kept coming up with the same artists names, which I often remembered well before this episode.
Having names is one thing, yet my knowledge was very limited until I researched these artists for this episode. I developed a deep appreciation for the work of George Catlin, admiring his deep commitment and ability to experience and share so many positive traits of Native American life and culture. Paul Kane also inspired me with his intrepid travels and incredible images. I don’t know how I could have produced this unit without the work of these artists.
Videos Used in this Episode
The featured Video for this episode highlights the work of artists producing sketches, etchings, and paintings of Native Americans. Click here to watch Native Americans Part 30A: Images on Canvas. The video above is focused on the artists rendering images through sketches and paintings. A longer video about them and the photographers who followed is available for viewing. Click here to watch this extended version of Images.
Links to Related Videos
Artist George Catlin was the focus of much of this episode’s content. The following You Tube videos have ads. Click here to see a lecture about Catlin from the Montana Historical Society. Click here for a short video by VIV Art about some of Catlin’s work. Click here for another short video about George Catlin from WVIA TV. Click here for Catlin’s images of Comanche Indians set to music and including his text about his admired subjects.
Homework
There’s enough detail in the featured video to characterize the artists who are the focus of this video. Characteristics or traits have to do with descriptive words that describe a person on the basis of a pattern of actions. Some possible words that would fit these artists would include: Courageous, open-minded, intrepid, dedicated, patient, friendly, determined, talented, ambitious, energetic, honest, stubborn, undaunted, and other traits. Be sure to back up your description with examples – actions that lead you to name a particular trait.
Next Episode
Episode 121 features photographers who travelled the West with the same mission as the painters: to document the lives of American Indians before their culture faded away. Click here to visit the Episode 121 page – coming soon.