Window on the West

Though published to accompany an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, and formulated around the Institute's holdings, this is not a typical exhibition catalogue as it's made up entirely of thematic essays written by Barter, the Institute's curator of American arts. He focuses on such topics as the presentation of Chicago as the gateway to the western frontier at the time of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, attitudes Chicagoans held towards Indians, art movements of the late-19th and early-20th centuries and their depiction of the West, Chicago collector George F. Harding and his favorite painter Frederic Remington, and the treatment of the West in the works of modern painters and artists collected in Chicago. Each essay is heavily illustrated with b&w and color plates. A glossary is included that provides summaries of the careers and contributions of artists, collectors, institutions, and others discussed in the text. The volume, which is oversize (9.75x12.25"), is co-published with Hudson Hills Press. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).