Romancing the West: Alfred Jacob Miller in the Bank of America Collection On View for One More Week
Vibrant and masterful works on paper by the artist Alfred Jacob Miller will be on view for one extra week in Romancing the West: Alfred Jacob Miller in the Bank of America Collection at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo. The exhibition will be on view through Jan. 16 and will be free for the rest of its run.
“We want the Nelson-Atkins to be as accessible as possible, and we are delighted to have this opportunity,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins. “Free admission during this added week allows even more people to see this beautiful and engaging show.”
Baltimore native Alfred Jacob Miller (1810–1874) was one of the first American artists to paint the “Far West,” considered at the time as exotic and distant by people living in the East. Bank of America’s 30 sheets, which have not been on view to the public since 1964, feature poetic images of the stunning landscape of early America, the daily life of Native Americans and mountain men, and the exotic wildlife and fauna he observed.
Miller made more than 100 field sketches during an expedition with the Scottish nobleman William Drummond Stewart and the American Fur Company in 1837, and his adventure became the inspiration for at least a thousand paintings and watercolors. For nearly three decades, he received commissions for albums of watercolors and full-sized oil paintings that he produced in his studio.
These works from the Bank of America Collection represent intermediary work based on his field sketches and in preparation for works commissioned by patrons.
After it closes on Jan.16, the exhibition will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and then to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours are Wednesday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, Noon–5 p.m. Admission to the Museum is free to everyone. For Museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org.
Image: Alfred Jacob Miller, American (1810–1874). War Path. Oil and glazes over graphite, ink and possibly watercolor on cream, wove paper. 9 x 12 1/4 in. Bank of America Collection.
