F U R T R A D E R S 1 8 4 5
George Bingham 1811 - 1879
A French fur trader and his mixed-heritage son ply
their trade on the tranquil waters of the Missouri River.
Is that a bear cub or cat tied to the dugout canoe?
The trader wears a liberty cap - popular among
19th century French Revolutionaries because
it stood for freedom.
This is one of a number of paintings Bingham sent to
New York from his home in Missouri. The people
back East loved Bingham's idealized portraits of
the American frontier.
D R. G R O S S ' C L I N I C 1 8 7 5
Thomas Eakins 1844 - 1916
Philadelphia's celebrated surgeon, Dr. Samuel Gross,
removes an infected bone from the patient's hip
using his revolutionary procedure that replaced the
current practice of amputation as remedy. No one in
attendance wore masks or gloves as the surgery was
performed prior to the appreciation of sterile techniques.
Eakins is among those best representing the school
of American realism.
D A S H F O R T H E T I M B E R 1 8 8 9
Frederic Remington 1861 - 1909
Remington portrayed the cowboy in epic scenes
taken from stories of the Open Range where cattle were
driven five hundred miles to railheads in Abilene and
Wichita. There the cattle were herded onto wooden
freight cars, pulled by steam locomotives, destined
for the meat packing plants of Chicago.
Remington portrayed the cowboy as an individualist...
independent, self-reliant. But also someone who
would give you the shirt off his back if need be.
G U L F S T R E A M 1 8 9 9
Winslow Homer 1836 - 1910
A lone man awaits his fate as his fishing boat lurches
about in storm-tossed seas, both rudderless and
without a mast. A fearsome waterspout appears to
close in while hungry sharks circle the stricken vessel.
On the horizon a large sailing ship passes
unaware of the life and death drama unfolding
a short, rescuable distance away.
Winslow Homer was a New Englander with years
of experience sailing about the sometimes treacherous
seas of the Caribbean.
R E D C A N N A 1 9 2 3
Georgia O'Keeffe 1887 - 1986
Red Canna 1923 was among O'Keefe's earliest
close up portrayals of flowers, providing them
with an impact both monumental and sensual.
It was a modern still life, abstract and without
need of realistic detail.
"I paint because color is significant."
Georgia O'Keeffe
A C H E L O U S A N D H E R C U L E S 1 9 4 7
Thomas Hart Benton 1889 - 1986
Achelous, Greek god controlling the rivers, is depicted
as a fierce bull being restrained by Hercules in this parable
about the Army Corps of Engineers' attempt to control
the flooding Missouri River. A horn is ripped from the
bull's head and it, in turn, becomes the Cornucopia of
Plenty for the people of the surrounding valley.
It sounds like a splendid topic for a large public mural.
Hart's painting undulates with energy, and the robust
certainty of an MGM movie musical.
Oklahoma!
All for one and one for all.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
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