This collection illustrates the movement of settlers into Western regions of the United States and the depiction and interpretation of this movement by visual artists. By 1850, although many U.S. Americans understood the shape of the nation to be fixed, indigenous people continued to contest these claims. At the same time, technological developments made photography widely available to European Americans. This historical conjuncture meant that the settlers and the U.S. government's expropriation of native land was aided by the circulation of the first photographic images of the West.
This collections invites a critical look at the representation and effect of Manifest Destiny, and ideology that explained European American violence and colonialism as the pre-determined unfolding of what was mean to be . This body of work raises important and challenging questions about racial
stereotyping, the seizure of land from native populations, and the preservation and
destruction of natural resources. What this portfolio can also show is the shifting and changing images
of the American West over time, for example: from the focus on “cowboys and
Indians” of Huffman and Kenyon to the sublime natural expanses of Ansel Adams.
Elliott Erwitt Ranch Boy with Father, from "Portfolio of 15 Photographs" gelatin silver print on paper 16 in. x 19 15/16 in. ( 40.7 cm x 50.7 cm ) Gift of Gerald Lotenberg
Laton Alton Huffman San Flats Round-up, Eight Cuts in Sight colotype print on paper 9 1/16 in. x 22 5/16 in. ( 23 cm x 56.7 cm ) Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Michael Fauman
Bernard Steffen Starvation lithograph on paper 8 ⅛ in x 14 ½ in (20.64 cm x 36.83 cm) Allocated by the U.S. Government
Commissioned through the New Deal art projects
Laton Alton Huffman Horse Round-up, Lame Deer Hills colotype print on paper 8 3/4 in. x 18 3/4 in. ( 22.2 cm x 47.7 cm ) Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Michael Fauman
Walter E. Bohl Breaking Trail etching on paper 7 3/8 x 9.9 in. (18.73 x 25.24 cm);14 x 19 in. (35.56 x 48.26 cm);9 3/4 x 12 5/8 in. (24.61 x 32.07 cm) Bequest of Carl F. Clarke
Laton Alton Huffman Hot Sheep in Powder River Badlands colotype print on paper 7 15/16 in. x 9 15/16 in. ( 20.2 cm x 25.2 cm ) Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Michael Fauman
Laton Alton Huffman Throwing Rangers to the Round-up colotype print on paper 9 15/16 in. x 19 15/16 in. ( 25.3 cm x 50.6 cm ) Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Michael Fauman
Laton Alton Huffman After the Chase, North Montana colotype print on paper 9 15/16 in. x 7 7/8 in. ( 25.3 cm x 20 cm ) Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Michael Fauman
Laton Alton Huffman The Hat X Camp, General Round-up colotype print on paper 9 13/16 in. x 22 7/16 in. ( 25 cm x 57 cm ) Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Michael Fauman