9/17/2023 0 Comments Plain old west train sketch![]() ![]() My general scope is not realistic all my tendencies are toward idealization. I place no value upon literal transcripts from Nature. Thomas Moran, well known for his landscapes of the West in the period we are considering, has discussed this point and it is worth repeating here: ![]() Such artists, chiefly those included in the second of the above groups, can produce pictorial records of very real value if they convey the impressions of the place and time that are the contemporary prevailing ones. Of course, it should be realized that the artist, unlike the photographer, frequently selects, excludes, and introduces detail at his discretion for the purpose of giving unity and emphasis to the subject depicted. All of these various types may have value but for present purposes they are ranked in importance in the order given. (1) Illustrations, sketches, drawings, paintings, made by eyewitnesses of a given scene (2) illustrations that are imaginary but which have been made by contemporary artists who have observed and studied the environment, the characters, and the incidents depicted (3) illustrations made by modern artists who have based their work on study of contemporary literature and pictures, either hand executed or photographic (this group lies outside the present study) (4) and lastly, illustrations made by contemporary artists which are purely imaginary with little utilization of fact or study. The type of hand-executed picture with which we shall concern ourselves is that which is of interest to the social historianrealistic scenes from everyday life of the past and usually called by the artistic profession "genre" drawings or paintings, as distinguished from purely portrait, still life, or landscape work.įrom the standpoint of merit these pictures portraying the life and growth of the old West, may be divided into several groups according to the standard of evaluation used: Further, the time period considered will be restricted to the nineteenth century, a century which saw the development and the disappearance of our Western frontier. ![]() The past which is here re-presented is chiefly that of the plains and the Rocky Mountain area, although an occasional excursion will be made to the region still farther west. e., the illustrator or painter, as he has left us a pictorial record of the past. This series of articles deals with the work of the artist, i. Of the various types of illustrations available in modern times for the historian's use, the photograph is regarded by the author as the most important and I have treated it at length elsewhere. This practice is so common that it seems invidious to single out any one case for criticism. In fact, the most surprising circumstance is that many historians, professionals and amateurs alike, who are most meticulous about documenting their written manuscripts with source notes and arguments, use illustrations without the least attempt at documenting the source or the authenticity of the illustrations used. Doubtless no one will question that pictorial records are important, although professional historians in general have not often made them a matter of serious study. IN beginning this series, it seems advisable to consider how we can determine the value of a picture as a document or a record of the past. ![]() 1), pages 1 to 35.ĭigitized with permission of the Kansas Historical Society. ![]()
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