Frontier Women and Their Art: A Chronological Encyclopedia

(Hardback)

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While often less celebrated than their male counterparts, women have been vital contributors to the arts for centuries. Works by women of the frontier represent treasured accomplishments of American culture and still impress us today, centuries after their creation. The breadth of creative expression by women of this time period is as remarkable as the women themselves. In Frontier Women and Their Art: A Chronological Encyclopedia, Mary Ellen Snodgrass explores the rich history of womens creative expression from the beginning of the Federalist era to the end of the nineteenth century. Focusing particularly on Western artistic style, the importance of cultural exchange, and the preservation of history, this book captures a wide variety of artistic accomplishment, including Folk music, frontier theatrics, and dancing Quilting, stitchery, and beadwork Sculpture and adobe construction Writing, translations, and storytelling Individual talents highlighted in this volume include basketry by Nellie Charlie, acting by Blanche Bates, costuming by Annie Oakley, diary entries by Emily French, translations by Sacajawea, flag designs by Nancy Kelsey, photography by Jennie Ross Cobb, and singing by Lotta Crabtree. Each entry includes a comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources, as well as further readings on the female artists and their respective crafts. This text also defines and provides examples of technical terms such as appliqu, libretto, grapevine, farce, coil pots, and quilling. With its informative entries and extensive examinations of artistic talent, Frontier Women and Their Art is a valuable resource for students, scholars, and anyone interested in learning about some of the most influential and talented women in the arts.

Reviews

Snodgrass here surveys the crafts and talents of a variety of creators and originators occupying the American wilderness. These women, whose courage, fortitude, and ingenuity comprisethe stuff of legends, were also accomplished practitioners in a number of creative pursuits. They were basket makers, potters, and quilters but also equestrians, sharpshooters, and taxidermists, not to mention botanists, banjoists, and herbalists. Snodgrassalso identifies biographers, journal keepers, letter writers, memoirists, poets, and pamphleteers as well asactors, circus performers, dancers, guitarists, magicians, and mimes. A series of appendixes facilitates access to accounts of individual women, whose names are listed by art, state, and ethnicity. Here, too, area chronology of key events in American history and a glossary of terms.The bibliography is extensive and features primary as well as secondary sources. Period illustrations and contemporary photographs punctuate the text of a fascinating work that helps fill the gaps that still exist in the history of American art and culture. A must for American-art and womens-studies collections. * Booklist *

Author Bio

Mary Ellen Snodgrass is the author of several award-winning reference volumes, including Encyclopedia of Utopian Literature (1995), Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature (2006), and Encyclopedia of the Underground Railroad (2007). She is also the author of The Encyclopedia of World Ballet (2015), The Encyclopedia of World Folk Dance (2016), and American Colonial Women and Their Art: A Chronological Encyclopedia (2017), all published by Rowman & Littlefield.