Famous American Western Paintings
Famous American Western Paintings provide us with an insight to an ever-changing time in America's history. Frederic Remington, Albert Bierstadt and Georgia O'Keeffe are a few of the famous painters who depicted the American West through their art work. Famous American western paintings allow us to relive the past through images that have become immortalized.
Georgia O'Keeffe: "Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue"
Georgia O'Keeffe's famous painting, "Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue," depicts a symbol associated with the western heritage of the United States. The image of a cow's skull represents the struggle for survival fought throughout the West during a time of expansion. "Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue" was painted by Georgia O'Keeffe in 1931. The oil painting measures 39 7/8 by 35 7/8 inches. It is part of the Alfred Stieglitz Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Albert Bierstadt: "The Last of the Buffalo"
"The Last of the Buffalo" was painted by American Western artist Albert Bierstadt in 1888. The location of the scene in "The Last of the Buffalo" is believed to be the foot of the Wind River Mountains in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Bierstadt chose as his subject the destruction of the once numerous herds of buffalo, which by this time had been reduced to a few hundred animals still roaming the plains. According to Dare Myers Hartwell, Conservator at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, "The Last of the Buffalo" is a "romantic vision of an earlier era when the buffalo were still plentiful; the Indians roamed freely; and without guns, the two were evenly matched in combat," writes conservator Dare Myers Hartwell. "The Last of the Buffalo" was a gift to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., from Mary (Mrs. Albert) Bierstadt. It is an oil on canvas painting that measures 71-1/8 by 118-3/4 inches.
Frederic Remington: "The Stampede"
Frederic Remington's famous American Western painting "The Stampede" depicts a close up of a lone cowboy and horse riding along side a stampeding herd of cattle in a rain storm. This dramatic painting portrays the stormy weather through dark clouds, lightening and an obvious downpour. Frederic Remington painted this oil on canvas painting in 1908. Its overall size is 27 by 40 inches. "The Stampede" hangs in the Gilcrease Institute, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
