Virtually explore the museum with Smarthistory as your guide
Some background
videos + essays
Link to the Denver Art Museum's website
Robert Henri, Tom Po Qui (Water of Antelope Lake/Indian Girl/Ramoncita)
The performance of Indigenous identity through the lens of early 20th-century Modernism.
Francisco Clapera, set of sixteen casta paintings
These challenging paintings visually separate Indigenous Americans from the Spanish elite; most were exported.
Casta painting in the Spanish Americas
These challenging paintings visually separate Indigenous Americans from the Spanish elite; most were exported.
Bear Claw Necklace (Pawnee)
Six bears were required to create this necklace, meant imbue the Pawnee chief with protection and power.
The lure of the American Southwest: E. Martin Hennings, Rabbit Hunt
The Southwest became a hub for artists seeking “quintessentially American” subjects beyond New York and Chicago.
