Past Exhibitions

	The Indian and the Lily, 1887, George de Forest Brush
George de Forest Brush: The Indian Paintings February 26–May 25, 2009 SAM

Paintings by George de Forest Brush have been recently rediscovered, providing the inspiration for an exhibition of 21 works of art by this gifted but little-known 19th-century American artist.

The subjects of these paintings are Indians—ancient native North Americans and Meso-Americans. Brush began painting Indians out of his experience living with the Crow, Shoshone and Arapahoe in the West from 1881 to 1882. His paintings are exquisite miniaturist views of other worlds inhabited by ancient storytellers, carvers, weavers, painters and hunters. The artist’s treatment of the subject is unique in American art from this period, when American Indians were typically treated in art as hostile peoples, aggressors against white settlers in the American West. These paintings, on loan from private and museum collections, have never been shown together before.

Educational Resources
To explore this exhibition a little deeper, attend some of the related programs and events for kids, teens and adults or download our bibliography. Launch the National Gallery of Art’s interactive.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with the Seattle Art Museum. Generous support for the exhibition in Seattle was provided by Allan and Mary Kollar. Additional funding has been provided by the Bryant R. Dunn Endowment, the Yvonne Twining Humber Bequest, and the Seattle Art Museum’s American Art Fund.

The Indian and the Lily, 1887, George de Forest Brush, American, 1854/1855– 1941, oil on canvas, 21 x 22 in., Courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum of American art, Bentonville, Arkansas, Photography by Dwight Primiano