Art West of the Mississippi Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sitting Bull

Francis White Cloud (died 1859) was a leader of the Ioway nation and had his portrait painted by Catlin in 1844. Buffalo Bull's Back Fat or Stu-mick-o-súcks was a leader of the Kainai nation and had his portrait painted by Catlin in 1832. Wah-ro-née-sah or The Surrounder, a leader of the Otoe nation had his portrait painted by Catliln in 1832. Sitting Bull (1831-1890) was a leader of the Lakota nation, but his portrait was not painted by Catlin.

Answer: Mount Rosalie

The full title of the painting is "A Storm in the Mountains, Mt. Rosalie". The summit of Mount Evans is at 14,271 feet and the mountain stands in Clear Creek County, Colorado. The Rosalie the mountain was named after was Rosalie Ludlow, the wife of one of Bierstadt's friends and the mistress of Bierstadt.

The mountain was later re-named in honor of John Evans, a former governor of Colorado Territory. The painting was based on an expedition into the American West in which Bierstadt participated in 1863.

Answer: The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad

The painting was entitled "The Last Spike" and shows the scene at Promontory Point, Utah, when the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads were joined by a symbolic golden spike. The painting includes many people in government and business associated with the Transcontinental Railroad, of whom over 70 are identifiable portraits, including Governor Leland Stanford of California. Mountains can be seen in the background and a few feet of railroad track can be seen in the foreground.

Other features several Native Americans, a company of US soldiers, and an impromptu poker game.

Answer: The horse is jumping

The horse is caught mid jump with the front two legs off of the ground and the rear two legs poised to do likewise. The cowboy (identifiable by several pieces of clothing) sits in a saddle on the horse's back and looks experienced. There are several other men and horses (much calmer) in the background. Though there are mountains in the background, much of the foreground is a dry yellow.

Answer: Montana

The mural sits behind the speaker's chair in the meeting chamber of the Montana House of Representatives. The mural is a representation of the meeting that took place between the Corps of Discovery and leaders of the Salish (Flathead) nation on September 04, 1805. Though Lewis and Clark are mentioned in the mural's title, the work focuses on the Native Americans depicted. Lewis and Clark are a focus of a number of works by Russell.

Answer: New Mexico

O'Keeffe used a tree found on the grounds of the D. H. Lawrence Ranch in Taos County, New Mexico. O'Keeffe, who would live for several decades in Abiquiu, New Mexico, was staying at the Taos Art Colony in 1929. The tree is a Ponderosa Pine. Author D. H. Lawrence, who owned the ranch, described the tree: "The big pine tree in front of the house, standing still and unconcerned and alive...the overshadowing tree whose green top one never looks at... One goes out of the door and the tree-trunk is there, like a guardian angel.

The tree-trunk, the long work table and the fence!"

Answer: A pitchfork

Wood's picture of a man and a woman (usually interpreted as either a farmer and his wife or a farmer and his daughter) is well-enough known to be frequently parodied. The farmer, wearing a pair of overalls and a blue coat, holds a pitchfork in his right hand as the woman, wearing a colonial print apron looks towards him.

The models were Nan Graham, Wood's sister, and Byron McKeeby, his dentist. The frame house in the background is the Dibble House and is located in Eldon, Iowa. Wood is said to have been struck by the Gothic-style window in the frame building.

Answer: Post Office

"Border Gateways" shows emigrants arriving in Kansas Territory in the 1850s in covered wagons. The mural can be found in the Post Office of Fort Scott, Kansas. The mural was part of a large series created for Post Offices throughout the United States by numerous artists in the 1930s and 1940s by the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture. Works created under this program were to be in a realistic style and avoid controversial subjects while reflecting the history of the area. Fort Scott is located in Bourbon County, Kansas, not far from the border with Missouri.

Answer: The Saturday Evening Post

Clymer's works were noted for great attention to detail. He and his wife would first conduct research on the area and then travel to the site itself to get a firsthand feel. Clymer, like Norman Rockwell, was a frequent contributor to "The Saturday Evening Post." He was estimated to have completed over 80 covers, most in the post-World War Two period.

These include "Walking on the Fence" (1954) and "Rocky Mountain Fly Fishing" (1956).

Answer: Indian Head Nickel (five cents)

The Indian Head Half Eagle, designed by Bela Lyon Pratt, was made of gold and issued between 1908 and 1929. The Indian Head Eagle, a gold coin, was designed by Augustus Saint Gaudens and issued between 1908 and 1933. The Indian Head Cent was designed by James Longacre and issued in bronze from 1859 to 1909.

The Indian Head Nickel (also known as a Buffalo Nickel) was issued in copper-nickel and issued from 1913 to 1938. The obverse features a bust of a Native American, believed to be a composite portrait of several men. The reverse features a standing American bison.