Léon Belly, Pilgrims going to Mecca, (Pèlerins allant à la Mecque), 1861. Oil paint on canvas; 63 in. × 7 ft. 11¼ in. (160 × 242 cm). Musee d’Orsay, Paris. © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY. Photograph by Franck Raux.

Near East to Far West

Fictions of French and American Colonialism

Léon Belly, Pilgrims going to Mecca, (Pèlerins allant à la Mecque), 1861. Oil paint on canvas; 63 in. × 7 ft. 11¼ in. (160 × 242 cm). Musee d’Orsay, Paris. © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY. Photograph by Franck Raux.

Henry Farny, Mesa Village, about 1891. Gouache on paper; 15 × 9⅜ in. (38.1 × 28.8 cm). Denver Art Museum: The Roath Collection, 2014.374

Fernand Lungren, In the Abyss: Grand Canyon, about 1896. Oil paint on canvas; 60¼ × 40 in. (153 × 101.6 cm). The Art, Design & Architecture Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara: Fernand Lungren Bequest, 1964.659

Léon Belly, Pilgrims going to Mecca, (Pèlerins allant à la Mecque), 1861. Oil paint on canvas; 63 in. × 7 ft. 11¼ in. (160 × 242 cm). Musee d’Orsay, Paris. © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY. Photograph by Franck Raux.

Alphonse-Étienne Dinet, Man in a Large Hat (Homme au Grand Chapeau), 1901. Oil paint on canvas; 15¼ × 10½ in. (38.7 × 26.7 cm). Musée d'Orsay and Cité nationale de l'histoire et de l'immigration, Paris: MAAO 9720, LUX 527. © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY. Photograph by Daniel Arnaudet

Ernest L. Blumenschein, Church at Ranchos de Taos, before 1917. Oil paint on canvas; 45 1/2 x 47 1/2 in. Courtesy of American Museum of Western Art --The Anschutz Collection. Photograph by William J. O’Connor

Gerald Cassidy, Cui Bono?, about 1911. Oil paint on canvas; 93 1/2 × 48 in. (237.5 × 121.9 cm). Collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art: Gift of Gerald Cassidy, 1915 (282.23P). Photo by Blair Clark.

William- Adolphe Bouguereau, The Pomegranate Seller, 1875. Oil paint on canvas; 45½ × 35 in. (115.6 × 88.9 cm). Private collection. Image courtesy Rehs Galleries, Inc., New York City

Eugène Fromentin, Bab-el-Gharbi Street in Laghouat (La Rue Bab-el-Gharbi à Laghouat), 1859. Oil paint on canvas; 55⅞ × 40½ in. (142 × 103 cm). Musée de la Chartreuse, Douai, France, 148 ancien dépôt. © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY

Ernest Blumenschein, American, 1874–1960, White Blanket and Blue Spruce. 1922. Oil on linen mounted on paperboard; 34⅛ × 28⅛ in. (86.7 × 71.4 cm). Collection of Vaughn O. Vennerberg II, Dallas, Texas. Courtesy Sotheby's

Gerald Cassidy, Midday Sun, North Africa, 1920s. Oil paint on canvas; 64 × 51½ in. (162.6 × 130.8 cm). Private collection. Photography courtesy Denver Art Museum

Look Inside the Exhibition

Watch this sneak peek of Near East to Far West: Fictions of French and American Colonialism and find more videos on the DAM's YouTube.

Figures on horseback leaving a large brick church in the background

Ernest L. Blumenschein, Church at Ranchos de Taos, before 1917. Oil paint on canvas; 45 1/2 x 47 1/2 in. Courtesy of American Museum of Western Art --The Anschutz Collection. Photograph by William J. O’Connor

Online Exhibition Guide

An online guide is available for select exhibitions, allowing visitors to take a closer look at the artworks and corresponding wall text. Look for a QR code inside the exhibition to load the guide onto your phone or browse online ahead of your visit.

Publications

Through an examination of the influence of French Orientalism on representations of the American West during the nineteenth and early twentieth centirues, this volume considers how French artistic values informed the development of western American art and the ways that Orientalist aesthetics and ideology shaped both French and American colonialism and expansion.

This catalog is available to purchase in the Shop or online.

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Near East to Far West: Fictions of French and American Colonialism is organized by the Denver Art Museum. It has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Research for this exhibition was supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art. It is presented with generous support from Keith and Kathie Finger, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Sotheby's, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.