Myth of The West - Hardcover

For Bruce the "myth of the west" has two major aspects: the "lone individual" who becomes a hero and "the landscape . . . the stage set upon which this drama of the western myth is played out." His focus in this exhibition catalog for the Henry Gallery in Seattle is the role of the visual arts in shaping and defining this myth. Bruce begins with the paintings of Catlin and Bodmer and ends with contemporary photographs and movies. The catalog's best essays are Brian W. Dipple's discussion of the mixing and merging of myth in Remington's paintings and Kathleen Murphy's examination of the mythic proportions of the movie Western. This is an informative and thought-provoking discussion of a major component of the American psyche.
- Douglas G. Camp bell, George Fox Coll., Newberg, Ore.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.