Synopsis
In 1832-34, German scientist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied travelled the interior regions of North America to document what he regarded as vanishing cultures. Accompanying him was the twenty-two-year-old Swiss artist Karl Bodmer (1809-93), whom Maximilian employed to create a "faithful and vivid image" of America and its people. Bodmer's magnificent watercolor paintings and sketches from the expedition are famous; less known today are the resulting engravings and prints, which helped shape Europeans' impressions of Native Americans and of the United States. Upon their return to Europe, Maximilian began the difficult task of turning his field notes and journals into a readable account of his journey, while Bodmer concentrated on the equally complicated process of translating his drawings and watercolors into engravings to accompany the text.During the nearly ten-year effort it took to create "Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-34", many of the eighty-one images underwent significant changes: Bodmer and his team of some thirty engravers altered landscapes and portraits based on Maximilian's input, modified imprecise inscriptions, and reengraved plates for future printings.
"Karl Bodmer's North American Prints" is the first book to systematically and comprehensively document and interpret these changes to the prints. Each version - or state - is cataloged, discussed, and linked to one of the five distinct editions. Other issues, including coloring, paper, and dates, are examined. The two essays, eighty-one entries, and six appendixes contained in this volume elucidate all aspects of the project, with special attention to the number of legitimate and illegitimate reproductions the popular North American prints engendered and to Bodmer's post-expedition output as a printmaker.Brandon K. Ruud is a researcher at the Art Institute of Chicago and an independent editor; he previously served as the assistant curator at the Margre H. Durham Center for Western Studies at Joslyn Art Museum. Marsha V.Gallagher is the chief curator and Holland Curator of the Durham Center for Western Studies at Joslyn Art Museum. Ron Tyler is the director of the Texas State Historical Association and a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin. J. Brooks Joyner is the director of Joslyn Art Museum.
