MUSEUM PREVIEW
Cartersville
Warhol and the West
August 25-December 31, 2019
Booth Western Art Museum
501 Museum Drive, Cartersville, GA 30120
(770) 387-1300, http://www.boothmuseum.orghighlighted the word “Liberty.”
Warhol’s General Custer is appropriated from
a Mathew Brady photograph from 1865. The dark
brooding photograph becomes a vibrant representation
of the Civil War general in a white coat with gold
buttons, red hat and bandana.
Hopkins comments, “Despite Warhol’s claims that
his images contained no social commentary, one cannot
view this image without considering Custer’s historical
reputation, which varies from fool to martyred hero
depending on the commentator. Warhol would seem to
side with the hero worshippers by enrobing Custer in saintly
white.” He continues, “Kent Klineman, the copublisher of
Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians suite, recalled the artist
being a ‘huge Custer fan’ and that he lobbied to include
the general in the series even though Klineman felt Custer
was “an idiot and an overused cliché.’”
The mystery of Warhol’s intentions and his place in
the art world of the mid-20th century are explored by
Anglo and Native scholars and artists in the catalog to
the exhibition.
The curators Faith Brower, Michael R. Grauer and
Hopkins ask, “Is Warhol elevating his subjects as
American heroes, portraying them as vintage kitsch,
or commenting on their has-been status? We may
never know, or at least never be sure. What we can
be sure of is Warhol’s profound ability to find subjects
that continue to hold relevance and meaning today,
reminding us that the American West and its myths have
influenced and inspired people through a turbulent past
into a dynamic present and a shared future.”
Brower is Haub Curator of Western American Art,
Tacoma Art Museum, and Grauer is McCasland Chair
of Cowboy Culture/Curator of Cowboy Collections and
Western Art at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage
Museum.Cowboys and Indians: Geronimo, 1986, screenprint on Lenox museum board,
ed. 94 of 250, 36 x 36”. Collection Booth Western Art Museum.
Cowboys and Indians: Indian Head Nickel, 1986, screenprint on Lenox museum
board, ed. 55 of 250, 36 x 36”. Collection Booth Western Art Museum.