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The Potomac Corral is a local organization for people interested in the American West. It is one of a number of similar chapters in the loosely-knit society known as Westerners International.
The Potomac Corral is like a cross between a learned society and a Lions Club. Here, scholars, policy-makers, enthusiasts, and the merely curious meet on neutral ground and in mutual respect. An appreciation for the American West is, of course, their common denominator and shared passion.
The Potomac Corral has been one of the most productive and active corrals. Washington, D.C., has attracted distinguished experts on Western subjects to work in various federal agencies, academic institutions, museums, libraries, archives, and other institutes and businesses. Of course, the city has been home to many former residents of the West, and others who simply appreciate the American West and all that is associated with it. Indeed, it is probably the case that Washington, D.C., is the best place to study the West, east of the Mississippi.
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The Potomac Corral met on Thursday, May 7, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. at the Boulevard Woodgrill in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington. Corral member Elaine Weiss presented "On the Trail of the Woman's Land Army in the American West," based on her book, Fruits of Victory: The Woman's Land Army of American in the Great War.
Special thanks to Elaine for a fantastic presentation!
If you missed the meeting, please consider purchasing her book.
The Potomac Corral is considering a summer meeting this year. If we do not have a summer meeting, the next meeting will likely be in September. Check back later for more information...
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August 2008 News: The Potomac Corral won three awards from Westerners International for its accomplishments in 2007. Corral member Joseph Herring won the "Coke" Wood Award competition for the best published monograph or article dealing with Western American history. Corral member Francis Flavin won second place in the Danielson Award competition for the best presentation or program delivered to a corral or posse by a member of Westerners. Perhaps most important, the Potomac Corral won the "Heads-Up" Award for its programs, membership, publications, activities, community contributions in 2007. Congratulations to everyone who helped make 2007 a successful and enjoyable year.
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The 2009 annual meeting of the Western History Association will be in Denver, Colorado, on October7-10, 2009. Please feel welcome to attend the event, even if you are not a member of the WHA. |
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Exhibition: Faces of the Frontier: Photographic Portraits from the American West, 1845-1924. The American West was dramatically reconstituted during the 80 years between the Mexican War and the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924. This exhibition tells the story of these changes through 100 portrait photographs of the defining men and women of this period. National Portrait Gallery, September 25, 2009 through January 24, 2010.
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Lecture: Contemporary Landscape Photography and the Legacy of Ansel Adams. For the past four decades, landscape photography has attempted to negotiate the space between Ansel Adam's vision of an Arcadian wilderness and the details of the neighboring landscape. Toby Jurovics, Curator of Photography at the Smithsonian America Museum, relates how contemporary photography is driven by the same concern and affection for the American landscape. Saturday, June 20, 2009, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., at the Department of the Interior Museum, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
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Theater Performance: Adapted from the American classic by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edna Ferber, GIANT is a daring new musical. Epic in vision and scope, swept with passion and violence, touched by humor and sorrow, Giant is the powerful story of a Texas rancher and his Virginia-born wife as they face increasing challenges in their marriage and family in an ever-changing American landscape. Through May 31, 2009, at the Signature Theater in Arlington, Virginia.
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Television Documentary: We Shall Remain is a groundbreaking mini-series and provocative multi-media project that establishes Native history as an essential part of American history. Five 90-minute documentaries spanning three hundred years tell the story of pivotal moments in U.S. history from the American Indian perspective. Coming April 2009: check local PBS listings for more information.
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Exhibition: Into the Sunset: Photography's Image of the American West examines how photography has pictured the idea of the American West from 1850 to the present. Photography's development coincided with the exploration and the settlement of the West, and their simultaneous rise resulted in a complex association that has shaped the perception of the West's physical and social landscape to this day. Into the Sunset brings together over 120 photographs made by a variety of photographers, including Robert Adams, John Baldessari, Dorothea Lange, Timothy O'Sullivan, Cindy Sherman, Joel Sternfeld, Edward Weston, and Carleton E. Watkins. March 29 through June 8, 2009, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
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Lecture: One Hundred Summers: Kiowa Calendars and History Keeping will present one of those pictorial records, a recently discovered calendar kept by the Kiowa artist Silver Horn covering one hundred years of his tribe’s history from the summer of 1828 to the winter of 1928-29. The talk will explore how Kiowa concepts of representation and intellectual property have shaped the pictorial record. National Museum of the American Indian, Mall Museum Board Room, 5th Floor: Thursday, February 12, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
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Lecture: Dr. Michael Brodhead, member of the Potomac Corral, will deliver the lecture at the next meeting of the National Capital Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. Dr. Brodhead will speak on the life of Elliot Coues, who studied the flora, fauna, and history of the American West. The Sumner School Museum and Archives, located at 1201 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., will host the event. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., lecture starts at 7:00 p.m.
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The Indian Craft Shop at the Department of the Interior will hold its Annual Sale from February 17 to February 27, 2009. The Indian Craft Shop is located at the U.S. Department of the Interior / 1849 C Street, NW / Washington, DC 20240 / (202) 208-4056. Please bring a photo ID for entrance to the building.
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Exhibition: A Century Ago - "They Came as Sovereign Leaders" On view at the National Museum of the American Indian are photographs of six great Native chiefs who participated in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade: Buckskin Charlie (Ute), American Horse (Oglala Sioux), Quanah Parker (Comanche), Geronimo (Chiricahua Apache), Hollow Horn Bear (Brule Sioux), and Little Plume (Piegan Blackfeet). While the chiefs were invited to add color to the parade, they arrived with their own concerns and actively sought President Roosevelt's attention to the needs of their people. The exhibition is on display January 14, 2009 - February 17, 2009.
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Conference: Wyeth Foundation for American Art Conference, December 4-5, 2008. This conference is co-organized by the National Gallery of Art and the National Museum of the American Indian. This conference is held on the occasion of the exhibitions George de Forest Brush: The Indian Paintings, National Gallery of Art, and Fritz Scholder: Indian/Not Indian, National Museum of the American Indian. Sessions are as follows: Images of the American Indian, 1600-2000, December 4 at 3:00PM (National Museum of the American Indian); and December 5 at 10:00AM (East Building Concourse, Large Auditorium, National Gallery of Art). (View a PDF program)
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Gallery Talk: Corral member Francis Flavin will deliver a gallery talk at the National Portrait Gallery on Thursday, November 20, from 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. The talk is entitled "Commanders and Chiefs: Portrait of Sequoyah Face-to-Face Portrait Talk." Attendees should meet in the F Street lobby shortly before 6:00 p.m.
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Book Program: Warriors in Uniforms, Veteran's Day special program. Book panel discussion and book signing. Native Americans have served in the U.S. military since the American Revolution and by percentage, serve more than any other ethnic group in the armed forces. Historian and Corral member Herman Viola has included these heroic and unforgettable stories in his latest book, Warriors in Uniforms: The Legacy of American Indian Heroism (National Geographic, November 2008). The book program includes a panel discussion moderated by former senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell with Native American veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. A book signing will follow. Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., in the Rasmuson Theater at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
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November is National American Indian Heritage Month. To commemorate American Indian Heritage, the Smithsonian Institution is offering a variety of programs. Please visit their American Indian Heritage Month page or their events calendar for more information.
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The program for the 2008 annual meeting of the Western History Association is now available on-line. The meeting will be in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 22-25, 2008. Please feel welcome to attend the event, even if you are not a member of the WHA. (Links: conference program (12mb) | WHA main site | Salt Lake City conference site)
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Exhibition: George de Forest Brush: The Indian Paintings
Combining extraordinary technical skills acquired in Paris with firsthand experience living among the Arapahoe, Shoshone, and Crow in Wyoming and Montana, George de Forest Brush (1854/1855 - 1941) created an important series of paintings of American Indians much celebrated by his contemporaries but rarely seen since. Many of these works were quickly acquired by major American collectors and have remained in private hands through several generations. The accompanying catalogue, incorporating new research, is the first scholarly study of this series. This exhibition will be on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., from September 14, 2008 to January 4, 2009.
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Exhibition: Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities. This exhibition celebrates the deep commitment to the American landscape by these two iconic artists—and how both artists intensely focused their attention on beauty in nature. The exhibition includes 43 paintings from public and private collections and 54 photographs borrowed primarily from the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. The exhibition runs from September 26, 2008 through January 4, 2009, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
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Open House: The Department of the Interior Library is hosting an Open House on Tuesday, September 9, 2008, from 9:30 am to 11:30 am, and 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. The open house will feature electronic vendor presentations, library tours, and a special lecture on George Catlin, painter of the American West and American Indains. The director of the library is corral member George Franchois, and Francis Flavin, a DOI historian and corral member, will deliver the lecture on George Catlin.
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Exhibition: Beyond Tradition: The Pueblo Pottery of Tammy Garcia. Pueblo Artist Tammy Garcia will be featured at the National Museum for Women in Art in Washington, D.C.
The exhibition features a select group of Garcia's most important pots and will be the first exhibition of her work at The National Museum of Women in the Arts. The NMWA is located at 1250 New York Avenue, NW,
Washington, D.C. The exhibition runs from August 22, 2008 - February 3, 2009. Learn more about Tammy Garcia at the Blue Rain Gallery in Taos, New Mexico.
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The Journal of the West has issued a Call for Papers for its forthcoming issues. Corral members interested in submitting articles or reviewing books for the journal should read the attached message.
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The Traditional Cowboy Arts Association has released its winter 2008 newsletter. The TCAA was founded in 1998 by a group of practicing gear makers with the intention of preserving the skills of their trades and setting uncompromising standards of craftsmanship. Members contribute their time to educate craftspeople, collectors and the public, as well as serve as specialized advisors to museums and collectors.
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