Charles Fritz, Captains Lewis and Clark depart for the Northwest Passage, 1804
The Journey of Lewis and Clark
Take a visual journey with the members of the Corps of Discovery and experience one of the greatest American journeys. This monumental exhibition has been created from three different areas to give a more rounded understanding of the people and landscapes that shaped that time in our country’s history. All the objects on view are drawn from one private collection.
The largest portion of the exhibition is "Charles Fritz: An Artist with the Corps of Discovery – One Hundred Paintings Illustrating the Journals of Lewis and Clark." The Montana artist completed his first Lewis and Clark painting in 1998 and his last one in 2008. The one hundred oils he created chronicle the explorers’ journals from their first sighting of the Great Falls of the Missouri to a buffalo hunt to the Pacific Ocean and back. Fritz’s own journey following the journals of Lewis and Clark began through a collector of western art who was seeking an artist to paint a scene based on Lewis’ description in 1805 of the Yellowstone River from a bluff on the Missouri. As Fritz began to work on the commission he became more determined to complete the whole expedition as if he was the artist with the Corps of Discovery. His paintings take the viewer from the beginning of the journey to its triumphant end and all the hardships in between.
"Michael Haynes – To the Western Ocean: Portraits of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" contain fourteen watercolor portraits that bring the people behind the Corps of Discovery to life. Lewis, Clark, York, and Sacagawea are portrayed in individual portraits while the other thirty members are shown in group portraits including hunters, soldiers, blacksmiths, interpreters, cooks, and musicians. His “Uniform and Dress of the Corps of Discovery” paintings were selected as guides for the uniforms in the National Geographic’s Lewis and Clark IMAX production.
Included in "Thomas Jefferson’s West: At the Confluence of Art and Exploration" are selections of paintings and drawings that illustrate Lewis and Clark’s Corp of Discovery expedition. He selected the works himself, paying close attention to the content of each piece to tell the story of their adventures in narrative form. This grouping includes works by William Ahrendt, James Ayers, Jim Carson, Todd Connor, Curt Delano, John Demott, Frank Hagel, Mort Kunstler, Ken Laager, Dan Meiduch, Clark Kelly Price, Don Spaulding, and David Wright. Each artist has established a distinguished career as painters and illustrators in the romantic and historic depiction of a fascinating era in American history.
Thank you to the following sponsors:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Settlers West Galleries
Melody and Stuart Johnson
Western Art Patrons
Louise and James Glasser
Beth and Michael Kasser
Anne and Ed Lyman
Lodge on the Desert
Western Art Collector Magazine
