The history of the AMERICAN WEST involved the widest range of human activities. It is a complete assortment of racial, national identities, economic classes, ages, and lifestyles so evident at the time of the “Frontier” and in the western saga it generated. The West highlighted a human and stylistic capital, not just myths nor gender exclusivity, a world universally masculine. Women were fundamental and tenaciously participated in every single aspect of life in the West.
Buffalo Bill Center of The West
A visit to the Buffalo Bill Center of The West Museum in Cody highlights some unique stories of women who played a role in the West: in art and history. The museum is undoubtedly a remarkable museum complex strongly inspired by the American West: “We believe in a spirit, definable and intellectually real, called ‘The Spirit of the American West.’” It consists of 5 museums and a research library with Western art and artifacts: the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Plains Indians Museum, the Whitney Western Art Museum, the Draper Natural History Museum and the Cody Firearms Museum. It is the most notable museum of the American West and at the same time a Smithsonian Affiliate.
Whitney Art Museum
The Whitney Art Museum is the expression of the West in art. The first woman we mention is ROSA BONHEUR, a painter who admired Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show in Paris in 1889, so much that she invited Colonel Cody to visit Fontainebleau Castle where she painted his portrait. For her, Buffalo Bill embodied the freedom and independence of the United States. The portrait – one of the most famous of Buffalo Bill – painted by a woman is displayed at the Whitney Western Art Museum where paintings, sculptures, and prints show women or were created by women, although fewer in number compared to those of men and created by men. Women rarely received training to become artists. Rosa Bonheur was an exception thanks to her French family of artists involved in women’s rights.
Another female artist GERTRUDE VANDERBILT WHITNEY created the first artwork acquired for this museum: the monumental bronze statue depicting Buffalo Bill on horseback, placed outside the museum. The Vanderbilt – belonging to one of America’s wealthiest families – had the financial resources to cultivate her artistic interests. Often considered a socialite of high society, her professional career as an artist was sometimes not taken seriously. Thus, when commissioned to commemorate Buffalo Bill, she accepted the challenge and responded with this remarkable statue featuring a fiery equestrian portrait. Women sometimes appear as symbols. In the frontier artistic narrative by William Tylee Ranney in the painting Advice on the Prairie, the immigrant mother figure with a child in her arms symbolizes the promise of the future for settlers.
The independent-spirited woman is instead portrayed by N.C. Wyeth in The Lady Wins: the adventurous nature of women in the early 20th century leads them to assume roles in work, education, social movements, art, and literature, reflecting changes through the inclusion of energetic female characters like this expert horsewoman. Female artists appear more numerous in contemporary times, bringing new perspectives.
DONNA HOWELL-SICKLES, a contemporary Texan artist, chose the cowgirl as her subject, becoming the ideal figure: active, established, and also charming, as in the painting A Matter of Choice. The artist identifies with the self-sufficient and hardworking spirit of the cowgirl. Her portraits display all the glory of the cowgirl.
Cody Firearms Museum
The Cody Firearms Museum exhibits the world’s largest collection of American firearms: over 10,000 pieces of weapons from the West! Who hasn’t heard of the markswoman ANNIE OAKLEY? Phoebe Anne Moses gained experience hunting in her native Ohio, and in 1876, she took on the stage name Annie Oakley, joining her husband in a shooting show at age 16. Eight years later, she joined her husband in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show where she remained a star for over 15 years.
Many of Annie’s guns are displayed at the museum, including the Marlin M1893 rifle. Her reputation inspired many imitators: a large photo mural from the late 1800s shows her with a group of female sharpshooters. Women of the West – including the famous CALAMITY JANE – were highly familiar with firearms: the museum displays rifles used by two pioneering women of Cody, the Winchester M1894 of IRMA CODY, daughter of Buffalo Bill to whom her father dedicated the Irma Hotel in Cody; and the Savage M1899 used by WYNONA THOMPSON, another woman who contributed to Cody’s cultural tradition.
Buffalo Bill Museum
At the Buffalo Bill Museum, women of the West are portrayed in the challenge of the Frontier. MARY LAYCOCK CODY – Buffalo Bill’s mother – for example, highly educated, gave up her career and stability to move West and, like other women, became responsible for the family’s economic support following her husband’s death.
The dancer GIUSEPPINA MORLACCHI rejected the domestic role and traveled the United States performing in numerous cities with the Morlacchi Ballet Troupe in a series of popular shows. At the height of fame and success, she was cast as the protagonist in the western performance Scouts of the Prairie, alongside Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack Omohundro.
In the section dedicated to jewelry and family items, furniture, accessories, and clothing of women such as LOUISA FREDERICI CODY, wife of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, and her daughters and sisters-in-law can be found. She remained in a rocky relationship for 51 years until Cody’s death in 1917. If women influenced entertainment and fashion, politics, and economy, they also had to face tragedy. Mrs. Cody’s mourning dress represents the personal grief she endured.
Plains Indian Museum
At the PLAINS INDIAN MUSEUM, collections of art and artifacts from Plains Native Americans – among the largest in the United States – illustrate stories and traditions of Western Indians. Popular imagery presents the classic warrior wearing an eagle feather headdress riding a painted horse. But women are also recognized for their strength, skill, and contributions in creating and maintaining the native culture of the Plains. At least half of the items exhibited in the museum were created by women. In buffalo hunting or special occasions, Crow women decorated their horses with beaded saddles, bridles, and martingales, and still continue this tradition in parades and other events.
Women made Tepees from tanned buffalo hides until 1870, when large herds had not yet been exterminated by white men. They used various tools and worked for hours treating hides until softened to forge clothing and moccasins, as well as quivers and other containers. Skilled in beadwork and porcupine quill embroidery, they created clothing for their families that identified each tribe.
The color red is symbolic for many cultures and movements; often associated with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement which raises awareness about violence against indigenous women. Red is thought of as the color of violence. But conversely, for many native cultures, red is a color that spirits can see, recognizing the people who wear it on Earth.
An object from the past dating to 1890, a red dress from the Blackfeet Indian tribe of Montana, connects to the contemporary movement: in this way, the meaning is maintained. The museum collection is not only related to the past but conveys a meaning for the future.
©Thema Nuovi Mondi
