C.R. Smith Collection of Art of the American West
William Robinson Leigh
The Roping, 1914
Oil on canvas
45 1/4 x 38 1/4 in.
Gift of C.R. Smith, 1984
Featuring almost 100 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, the C.R. Smith Collection of Art of the American West presents an extensive look at the artistic portrayal of the development of the Western territories in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. C.R. Smith (1899 – 1990) was a University of Texas at Austin alumnus and the founding CEO of American Airlines who served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Johnson administration. Smith began the collection in the 1930s, in part due to the low prices brought about by the Great Depression, and built what is acknowledged to be one of the great collections of this material. It includes works by notable artists such as Albert Bierstadt, Maynard Dixon, Henry Farney, Frank Tenney Johnson, William Ranney, and Charles M. Russell. Among the collection's subjects are grand sweeping views of untouched and idealized Western landscapes, battle scenes, and romantic portrayals of the people who once populated the West, including trappers, cavalrymen, cowboys, and Native Americans. On view at the Museum is a selection of the collection organized to highlight both romanticized and documentary artistic approaches to the American West.
