Exhibition presents more than 120 historic works by Native American and non-Native American artists

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened Knowing the West, the first major traveling exhibition to embrace the American West as more inclusive, complex, and reflective of the diverse peoples who contributed to art and life there. Co-curated by Mindy Besaw, Crystal Bridges’ curator of American art and director of research, fellowships, and university partnerships, and Jami Powell (Osage), associate director for curatorial affairs and curator of Indigenous art at the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, the exhibition presents more than 120 historic works by Native American and non-Native American artists, including textiles, baskets, paintings, pottery, sculpture, beadwork, saddles, and prints.

Whether informed by lived experience or popular culture, Americans often feel they “know the West.” Knowing the West honors and expands these impressions.

“This exhibition recontextualizes historic artwork, encourages deeper exploration of a familiar topic, and celebrates the rich cultures that reflect the complexity of the American West,” said Besaw. “Art of the West is so often presented in simplified and binary terms – such as ‘cowboys and Indians’ – which does little to embrace the multiplicity of artists and communities in the West. But Knowing the West goes beyond this typical scenario, showcasing works by Dorothy Brett, Grafton Tyler Brown, Chiura Obata, Nellie Two Bear Gates, and many more artists who have been historically overlooked and underrepresented.”

By exhibiting artworks in a variety of media and by including makers from many nations and experiences, the exhibition aims to question and flatten existing hierarchies within American art. In fact, this approach can serve as a model for how to re-think and re-present American art broadly.

“Throughout the development and planning for this exhibition, we have prioritized the display of works by Native American artists – and particularly works by women – not only to celebrate the depth, breadth, diversity, and dynamic nature of Indigenous art of the West, but to demonstrate the significant impacts of Indigenous creative expression on the formation of the United States more broadly,” said Powell. “In focusing on narratives and ways of knowing that may be unfamiliar to some audiences, the exhibition aims to expand rather than replace existing impressions of the West.”

On view through January 27, 2025, Knowing the West will travel to two additional venues and is accompanied by a fully illustrated book published by Rizzoli Electa. Much like the exhibition, the publication centers Native voices and multiple perspectives through a series of essays by more than 20 authors: curators, curatorial advisors, and scholars.

Knowing the West is on view at Crystal Bridges from September 14, 2024, through January 27, 2025.

The exhibition will be on view from March 26, 2025, through August 31, 2025, at Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida; and from May 2, 2026, through August 9, 2026, at North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina.