Carter Bulletin : Vol. 1

This inaugural volume of the Carter Bulletin underscores the Amon Carter Museum of American Art’s commitment to knowledge creation through independent scholarship relating to the Museum’s collection. No artist is more appropriate for this first issue than Charles Marion Russell (1864−1926), the artist whose work defines in large measure the foundational collection at the Museum. Amon G. Carter Sr., the Museum’s namesake, amassed an in-depth collection of works by both Russell and Frederic Remington, making the Museum a prime resource for any study of their mythologizing of the American West. That romantic vision, however, is increasingly challenged by the real experiences of Indigenous communities who vied for power on the frontier. The essays in this issue consider that gap between romanticism and reality with fresh perspectives toward making Russell a fully realized artist working within complex social histories.