Fine Art of the West - 9780789206596

Fine Art of the West brings together many of the most artistically significant examples in public and private American collections of objects created by master craftsmen of the American West from the mid-nineteenth century to today. B. Byron Price, a leading expert in the field of American art, tells the fascinating history of how these objects took form in the Old West, as a legacy of Spanish and Mexican craftsmen, and as the everyday gear of cowboys, and how they became the focus of innovative designers who created a new, vigorous tradition in decorative art.
Discussed in depth, and illustrated in full-page illustrations, are working saddles and their offspring: the trophy, parade, and presentation saddles that are the masterpieces of Western craftsmen. A definitive selection of chaps, cuffs, gauntlets, and gun leather complements the saddle work. Price also focuses on quirts and other objects that illustrate artistry with hide and hair, and fine metalwork, including buckles, bits and spurs, jewelry, and gun engraving. Hats and boots, workaday and fancy, conclude the survey. Contemporary craftsmen who carry on these traditions today are represented, along with illustrations of their work. An in-depth bibliography completes this first comprehensive look at one of America's most fascinating forms of artistic expression.