Western Art Exhibition Opens at UW American Heritage Center

"Painted for Illustration: Paintings and Published Western Art from the Collection of Naoma Tate" is now on display at the University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center (AHC). The exhibition -- about Western art in its original and published forms -- is on display through Tuesday, April 15.

Curated by the Toppan Rare Books Library, the exhibition highlights 11 original paintings from the collection of Naoma Tate along with the books and magazines in which the illustrations appeared.

Artworks include W.H.D. Koerner's "Proud Sherriff," which appeared in 1932 as an illustration for a serialized story in issues of The Saturday Evening Post. William Herbert Dunton's "Venters and Bess" illustrated in the 1921 edition of Zane Grey's Western novel "Riders of the Purple Sage."

Several artists whose paintings are featured also were notable for their contributions outside of the Western genre. These include the works of painters Harvey Dunn and Dean Cornwell creating wartime propaganda, as well as Frank C. McCarthy's works illustrating movie posters, such as the "The Great Escape" and "Station Six Sahara."

Tate's generosity has made the AHC's exhibition possible, AHC Director Paul Flesher says.

"My earliest fascination with art was around the collections of 19th century art. I loved good storytelling," Tate says. "To be able to convey a narrative in a single image takes imagination and considerable trained talent."

Tate looked for the same skill in storytelling when she began to collect Western art.

"These paintings were done quickly, usually on a deadline, and they have an intuitive, expressive quality," Tate adds. "I love the immediacy of the narrative."

The "Painted for Illustration" exhibition gives visitors a firsthand view into the process of creating paintings to be used in published illustrations. Flesher adds that visitors also can explore interesting books and magazines from the Toppan Rare Books Library extensive collections in which the illustrations appeared and learn about the interplay between art of the Western genre and its use in publications.

"Being able to see full-size paintings alongside the illustrations in the short stories and books adds dimension to the stories," Toppan Library Curator Mary Beth Brown says. "The way the writers, the painters and their works all connect to one another shows the small size of the publishing world of popular Western fiction in the early 20th century."

UW AHC's exhibition halls are open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit the AHC website at www.uwyo.edu/ahc/.