Andrew J. Walker

In 2021, Prosek traveled to the Texas Hill Country to understand the region s threatened prairie habitats, thus embarking on a project to explore the complex realities of contemporary American grasslands. Prosek s art is influenced by his science-based, firsthand fieldwork, with his handwritten notes often lining the margins. The book features his richly detailed watercolors and silhouettes of animals, plants, and habitats that reinforce the importance of the prairies as their own complete ecosystems as well as the boundaries that define them in the present day from fencerows to more subtle transitions that distinguish a native prairie from one with invasive grasses. Art lovers, students of American history, landscape architects, horticulturalists, environmentalists, and lovers of open spaces will enjoy adding this book to their libraries.

A new look at George Caleb Bingham’s iconic river paintings and his creative process in making them George Caleb Bingham (1811–1879) moved to Missouri as a child and began painting the scenes of Missouri life for which he is now famous in the 1840s. Navigating the West explores how Bingham’s iconic river paintings reveal the cultural and economic significance of the massive Mississippi and Missouri waterways to mid-19th-century society. Focusing on the artist’s working methods and preparatory drawings, the book also explores Bingham’s representations of people and places and situates these images in a dialogue with other contemporary depictions of the region. Of particular note are two landmark essays investigating Bingham’s creative process through comparisons of infrared images of 17 of his paintings with both his preparatory drawings and the completed works, casting new light on his previously understudied process. Technical analysis of the artist’s lauded masterpiece, Fur Traders Descending the Missouri, reveals Bingham’s considerable revisions to the painting. In the concluding essay, the 20th-century revival of the artist’s work is discussed within the context of American Regionalism and in light of a shifting sequence of narratives about the nation’s past and future.Distributed for the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the Saint Louis Art MuseumExhibition Schedule:Amon Carter Museum of American Art (10/04/14–01/04/15)Saint Louis Art Museum(02/22/15–05/17/15)The Metropolitan Museum of Art (06/22/15–09/20/15)