After President Thomas Jefferson negotiated the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, he sent Lewis and Clark on the first overland exploration of this new territory. Their 1804-06 expedition motivated a "go west" movement that's never ended. Fortunately for us, a number of both 19th century artists and photographers heeded the westward call.

One of the earliest of these artists was George Catlin, already a well-known portraitist when he went west. A wonderful book, The Natural Man Observed: A Study of Catlin's Indian Gallery, by William J. Truettner, narrates the artist's work and reproduces his portraits and studies of Indians in full tribal dress. It also shows his pictures of Indian life and western landscapes.

Another artist, George Caleb Bingham, became a successful genre painter. His 1845 painting, Fur Traders Descending The Missouri, remains famous today. And The County Election, an outgrowth of his interest in politics, is noted for a realistic depiction of a rural election in 1865.

The spectacular western scenery also inspired our artists. The Rocky Mountains, painted in 1863 by Albert Bierstadt, and The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, painted in 1872 by Thomas Moran, both reflect the artists' wonder at viewing these sights.

All the territories that later became states offered grist for both artists and photographers. Frank Reaugh favored Texas and painted many scenes there. His Texas Cattle on the Prairie, 1887, is a pastel on paper mounted on canvas.

As for California, the Gold Rush of 1849 started a massive western migration of gold seekers. Artists and photographers were among them. Traveling in his wagon-studio, Isaac Wallace Baker shot the daguerreotype Murphy's Camp in 1853. Another example is Artist's Gold Mining Camp, a watercolor, painted in 1854.

Fortunately, eastern children were not to be left out of this western legacy. Edward Willard Deming's drawings for his book, Little Red People (Frederick A. Stokes Co., N.Y., 1899), illustrate Theresa O. Deming's lively stories about the daily activities of Indian children.

The last artist I have space to mention is Edward Hopper, who's been called "the foremost realist painter of 20th century America." Hopper made a trip to New Mexico in 1925. While there, he painted his stunning watercolor Adobe Houses. The scene depicts henna-colored houses backed by russet mountains mellowed by the western sun.

Now, if there is one city in our country that is home to modern artists of any genre, it has to be Taos, New Mexico. Over a mile high, Taos is located on a bluff between the Rio Grande River and the Sangre de Christo Mountain Range. Residing in this small city are hundreds of artists who have around 65 galleries in which to show their works.

A 1964 book, Following The Frontier, by Freeman Tilden, (Alfred A. Kopf, NY, 1964) tells the story and reproduces works by F. Jay Haynes, a photographer in the late 1800s. Haynes outfitted a Northern Pacific Pullman car for his studio and "rode the rails," taking formal portraits inside when the train was stopped and outside pictures when travelling. He developed and printed his work in the Pullman car. Yellowstone was his greatest fascination and he became its official photographer.

Three others of many who have contributed to the cache of western art included Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand and Ansel Adams, perhaps America's best known photographer of this genre.

Finally, I come to an interesting new art form from the late 20th century. Called Land Art, it's described as art formed from materials of the land. An example: the now deceased Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty. Completed around 1970, the sculpture was named one of the 100 top treasures of the century by Art & Antiques Magazine in March 2000.

Smithson's 1500-ft-long coil of black basalt and earth turns counter-clockwise into Utah's Great Salt Lake. Because of the lake's changing dimensions, I'm told that this sculpture is often underwater, but I still hope to see it one day.

Fur Traders Descending The Missouri

Thomas Moran: An Arizona Sunset Near the Grand Canyon

Frank Reaugh: Oregon Mountain