Karl Bodmer's America

by Karl Bodmer
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Editorial Reviews

Among the many painters of the early American West—of Native Americans, landscape, wildlife—no artist is more admired and renowned than Karl Bodmer. Here, for the first time, carefully prepared and painstakingly reproduced, is the full range of Bodmer's American work, printed in 359 plates, 257 in full color and 102 in black and white. Here, also for the first time, is the background needed to place Bodmer and his work in the history of his time, exploration, and the American frontier: his life, his American journey, and the subjects he painted and their contexts.

Bodmer accompanied his patron, Prince Maximilian of Wied, to the upper Missouri country in 1982-34. For many years, his work was known only through a picture atlas of eighty-one aquatints—largely Native American subjects—published in Europe soon after the party returned home. His original American art dropped out of sight for a hundred years, but was rediscovered at the Wied estate after World War II. The collection is now held by the Inter-North Art Foundation and is on permanent loan to the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. Except for the few selections judged too faint to reproduced, this volume presents that entire collection.

The paintings and sketches constitute a unique visul survey of the American frontier of that day. They follow Maximilian and Bodmer across the United States and some three thousand miles up the Missouri, through the domain of the Sioux, Manans, and Hidatsas, Blackfeet, Assiniboins, and other tribes. They depict landscapes, river views, natural history studies, and views of cities and settlements, as well as Indian portraits and related scenes of aboriginal life.

Karl Bodmer's America is a joint publication of the Joslyn Art Museum and the University of Nebraska Press.

Customer Reviews

Spectacular watercolors of a world before Us, 2008-07-08
by Kathleen Martin (Driggs Idaho)
Karl Bodner's America
This is amazing, not only in terms of watercolor technnique but depictions of native American life before the impact of the white man. you will be transported to an earlier time and the watercolors are hauntingly beautiful I have seen the exhibit at the Joslyn in Omaha and never bought the book because of the price, but keep coming back to it in memory, so must have a copy now.
DEPICTS AN ERA LONG GONE, 2005-05-23
by Kay's Husband (Virginia, U.S.A.)


I'm fortunate to have a couple volumes on Karl Bodmer's work with this one, in my opinion, being the more complete. The other volume is entitled "People of the First Man" subtitled: Life Among the Plains Indians in Their Final Days of Glory. Bodmer was a Swiss born artist who accompanied the Prince Maximillian of Wied expedition of 1883 as the prince coursed the Missouri River country.

When one opens this book the reader is immediately transported to the Upper Missouri country of 1832-34. With the paintings and sketches taking the reader among the Indian tribes of this area: Lakota (Sioux), Mandans, Hidatsas, Blackfeet, Assiniboins, Kickapoo, Pawnee-Omaha, Cheyenne, Crow, Cree-Gros Ventres, Piegan-Blood, Siksika, Kutenai-Shoshoni, among other tribes. Here for the first time 349 plates with 257 in full color have been given us by the U of Nebraska press. A truly marvelous book.

Soon after Bodmer's passing through this area a smallpox epidemic riddled all these tribes with some such as the Mandans being wiped out of existence. This book not only represents an unusal artifact of the times it illustrates as well people who were very soon to pass out of existence. In all Karl Bodmer had traveled approximately 5,000 miles while executing these priceless works of historical art.

Cannot recommend this volume highly enough!

Semper Fi.
The definitive guide to Bodmer's beautiful work, 1998-08-24
by Wendy Ellis (w_ellis@msn.com) (Menlo Park, CA)
Browsing through this tome transports one to the expedition Bodmer depicts. Accompanying commentary helps place the works in an historic context. The beauty of the works stand alone, but are made especially poignant with 20th century perspective that many of the Native American subjects will soon be destroyed through disease. A stunning collection.
Breathtaking watercolor artist when America was new, 1997-03-13
Karl's artistic pieces are some of the best I've seen. He shows the life behind the scenes and people he paints. This is an account of his travels through America when it was still young. If you like watercolor and breathtaking scenery, this book is for you