Foreword

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. This new initiative is rooted in the Carter’s history, an institution that has long enlisted both young and established scholars writing on new topics related to American art.

This inaugural volume manifests a return to that impetus, to use our remarkable collection to inspire new scholarship and critical perspectives independent of any exhibition. And 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 paintings, sculpture, and works on paper 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, has been challenged by the real experiences of Indigenous communities who vied for power on the frontier. The essays contained in these pages consider that gap between romanticism and reality with fresh perspectives toward making Russell a fully realized artist.

Andrew Eschelbacher, Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Carter, developed the idea for this series of occasional digital journals as he realized that so much of the Museum’s research value attracts visitors, fellows, and scholars to Fort Worth every year. Additionally, the Carter operates an art study room that allows access to all the Museum’s works on paper, including photographs, to any visitor. All these resources generate interpretative opportunities to explore a familiar subject through new lenses of understanding. This newly conceived journal holds as its main principle that insight into our collective history should be open to everyone, enabling diverse voices to be heard, challenged, and expanded.

Scott Wilcox
Interim Director and Chief Operating Officer, Amon Carter Museum of American Art