William de la Montagne Cary (1840-1922) stands as a significant, if sometimes overlooked, figure in the pantheon of artists who dedicated their careers to chronicling the American West. Born in New York City, a bustling metropolis far removed from the frontier he would come to document, Cary developed an early fascination with the narratives of adventure and exploration that were captivating the nation. His work, primarily as an illustrator for popular periodicals but also as a painter, provides a vital visual record of a transformative period in American history, capturing the landscapes, wildlife, Native American cultures, and the encroaching presence of Euro-American settlers during the latter half of the 19th century. His contributions offer a window into the perceptions and realities of a rapidly changing frontier.
Early Life and Artistic Inclinations
Born in 1840 in Albany, New York, and raised in New York City, William de la Montagne Cary grew up in an era of burgeoning national identity and fervent westward expansion. The city itself was a hub of artistic activity, with institutions like the National Academy of Design fostering a vibrant art scene. While detailed records of Cary's earliest artistic training are somewhat scarce, it is evident that he possessed a natural talent and a keen observational eye. The prevailing artistic winds of the time included the detailed realism of the Hudson River School painters, such as Thomas Cole and Asher B. Durand, who celebrated the American landscape, albeit primarily the eastern wilderness. Their meticulous attention to natural detail and romantic sensibility likely influenced the young Cary, even if his subject matter would eventually lead him far from the Catskills and Adirondacks.
The allure of the West, fueled by explorers' accounts, dime novels, and early visual reports from artists like George Catlin and Karl Bodmer who had ventured west decades earlier, was potent. These artists had already begun to create a visual lexicon of Native American life and the vast, untamed territories. Cary, coming of age in this environment, would have been exposed to these images and narratives, igniting a desire to witness and document these scenes firsthand. His decision to become an artist specializing in Western themes was thus both a personal passion and a response to a national fascination.
The Call of the West: Cary's Formative Journeys
The pivotal moment in Cary's career arrived in 1861. At the age of 21, he embarked on his first major expedition to the West, a journey that would profoundly shape his artistic vision and provide a lifetime of source material. He traveled with two companions, reportedly including one "Mr. Greatorex," likely a relative of the landscape painter Eliza Pratt Greatorex or her artist daughters, though this connection is not definitively established. Their mode of transport was a bull train, a slow but steady means of traversing the plains, following the course of the mighty Missouri River towards Fort Benton in present-day Montana. This arduous journey itself was an immersion into the frontier experience, fraught with challenges and wonders.
During this expedition, Cary had a harrowing encounter that underscored the dangers of the frontier: he and his party were nearly captured by a band of Crow warriors. Such experiences, while perilous, offered invaluable firsthand insights into the complexities of life in the West. A significant stop on this trip was Fort Union, a major fur trading post at the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. Here, Cary spent approximately six weeks, a period he used to keenly observe and sketch the nearby Assiniboine people. His time at Fort Union allowed him to witness daily life, ceremonies, and the interactions between Native Americans and the traders and travelers who frequented the post. These sketches and memories would become foundational for many of his later illustrations and paintings. Following his stay, Cary joined a government survey party, traveling further west towards the Pacific Coast, expanding his visual repertoire of landscapes and encounters.
A Developing Vision: Style and Themes
William de la Montagne Cary's artistic style can be characterized by its commitment to realism and narrative detail, often infused with a romantic sensibility. As an illustrator, clarity and storytelling were paramount. His work for popular magazines such as Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and Harper's Weekly required him to convey information and evoke atmosphere effectively for a wide audience. These publications were the primary visual media of their day, akin to television news today, and illustrators like Cary played a crucial role in shaping public perception of distant events and places.
His themes predominantly revolved around the core elements of the Western experience: Native American life, the activities of pioneers and trappers, dramatic wildlife encounters (especially buffalo hunts), and the majestic, often formidable, landscapes. Cary's depictions of Native Americans, while filtered through the lens of a 19th-century Euro-American perspective, often aimed for ethnographic accuracy in details of dress, dwellings, and customs. He was part of a generation of artists, including John Mix Stanley and later, more famously, Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, who sought to document what they perceived as a vanishing way of life.
In his paintings, Cary often employed more overtly romantic elements. Dramatic lighting, dynamic compositions, and a sense of awe before the grandeur of nature or the intensity of human and animal conflict are characteristic. He worked in oil, creating canvases that brought his frontier sketches to life with greater depth and color. His approach shared affinities with the landscape traditions of artists like Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, who were renowned for their monumental and often idealized portrayals of Western scenery, emphasizing its sublime and picturesque qualities. Cary, however, often focused more on the human and animal narratives within these landscapes.
Key Works and Their Enduring Significance
Among William de la Montagne Cary's most recognized works is the oil painting The Scalp Dance (also known as Assiniboine Scalp Dance). This piece, likely developed from sketches and observations made during his 1861 journey and possibly informed by his 1874 trip, depicts a dramatic and culturally specific ceremony. The painting captures the intensity and ritualistic nature of the event, showcasing Cary's ability to render dynamic figures and convey a sense of charged emotion. While the subject matter might be unsettling to modern sensibilities, it reflects the artist's endeavor to portray aspects of Native American life that were both fascinating and, at times, alarming to his contemporary audience. Such works contributed to the complex and often contradictory image of the "Indian" in the American imagination.
Another significant, though perhaps more illustrative, work is The Death Struggle of General Custer. This subject, the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, was a national sensation and a popular theme for artists. Cary's rendition, like many others, would have contributed to the mythologizing of Custer's Last Stand. His illustrations for magazines covered a wide array of Western subjects: buffalo hunts, encounters between settlers and Native Americans, scenes of daily life on the plains, and portraits of notable figures. These images, disseminated widely, were instrumental in forming the visual understanding of the West for an Eastern populace hungry for information and adventure.
The value of Cary's work lies not only in its artistic merit but also in its historical documentation. While not an ethnographer in the modern sense, his attention to detail in depicting clothing, tools, and activities provides valuable, if interpreted, visual data. His landscapes capture the vastness and specific features of regions that were undergoing rapid transformation due to settlement, railroad construction, and resource extraction. Artists like Cary, Alfred Jacob Miller (who traveled west earlier, in the 1830s), and Paul Kane (documenting the Canadian West) were creating a visual archive of a world that was quickly changing.
Further Expeditions and Continued Output
The allure of the West drew Cary back for subsequent journeys. In 1874, he undertook another significant trip, this time venturing to Walla Walla in Washington Territory. This journey provided him with fresh material and reinforced his commitment to Western themes. The experiences and sketches from this period further enriched his portfolio, allowing him to continue producing illustrations and paintings that resonated with public interest. The West was still a dominant subject in American popular culture, and Cary's firsthand experiences gave his work an authenticity that was highly valued.
Throughout his career, which spanned nearly three decades of active production of Western art, Cary maintained his connection with prominent illustrated journals. His consistent output ensured his visibility and cemented his reputation as a reliable and skilled depictor of Western life. He was part of a cadre of illustrators, including figures like A.R. Waud (famous for his Civil War sketches) and Theodore R. Davis, who were essentially visual journalists, bringing remote scenes and events to the public eye. The demand for such imagery was high, and Cary's ability to deliver compelling and informative pictures kept him in demand.
Cary in the Context of His Contemporaries
William de la Montagne Cary operated within a vibrant and competitive field of Western art. His career overlapped significantly with that of Frederic Remington (1861-1909) and Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), who would become the two most iconic artists of the American West. While Remington and Russell achieved greater fame, particularly for their dynamic sculptures and paintings that often romanticized the cowboy and the "Old West," Cary's contributions as an earlier and consistent illustrator were foundational.
Comparisons have sometimes been made between Cary's work and Remington's, particularly in terms of subject matter – cavalry charges, Native American encounters, and scenes of frontier action. Some discussions have even touched upon similarities that led to questions about influence or, more contentiously, authenticity, though concrete evidence of Cary directly forging Remington is not well-established. It is more likely that both artists were responding to similar market demands and drawing from a shared pool of popular Western tropes and actual events. Thematic overlap was common among artists depicting the same region and era. For instance, the works of Charles Schreyvogel, another contemporary known for his dramatic paintings of military engagements with Native Americans, also share thematic similarities with both Cary and Remington.
Cary's approach, particularly in his illustrations, often maintained a slightly more documentary or reportorial style compared to the often more overtly dramatic and stylized works of Remington and Russell in their mature periods. However, like them, Cary was instrumental in creating and perpetuating the visual mythology of the West. His work can also be seen in relation to artists like Henry Farny, who, though also an Easterner, became known for his sympathetic and often melancholic depictions of Native American life on the plains, or Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum, an illustrator and writer who also specialized in military and Western scenes.
The Enduring Legacy of William de la Montagne Cary
William de la Montagne Cary passed away in 1922 in Brookline, Massachusetts, at the age of 82. By the time of his death, the "Wild West" he had documented was largely a thing of the past, transformed by settlement, agriculture, and industrialization. However, the fascination with this era endured, and Cary's work remained a testament to that period of dramatic change.
His legacy is primarily that of a visual historian. His illustrations and paintings offer invaluable glimpses into the 19th-century American West, capturing its landscapes, its native inhabitants, its wildlife, and the varied experiences of those who ventured into it. While his name may not be as instantly recognizable as Remington or Russell, his contributions to the visual culture of his time were significant. His works appeared in widely circulated publications, shaping the understanding and imagination of countless Americans regarding their nation's frontier.
In recent decades, there has been a renewed appreciation for the work of 19th-century illustrators, recognizing their artistic skill and their crucial role in disseminating information and shaping cultural narratives. Cary's paintings and illustrations continue to be of interest to collectors and historians. His works occasionally appear at auction, sometimes fetching significant prices, as evidenced by sales at venues like the Coeur d'Alene Art Auction, indicating a sustained market appreciation for his art. Museums with collections of Western American art often include his work, ensuring its preservation and accessibility for future generations. Artists like N.C. Wyeth, though of a later generation, built upon the illustrative traditions established by artists like Cary and Howard Pyle, further romanticizing the West for 20th-century audiences.
Conclusion: A Chronicler of a Vanishing Frontier
William de la Montagne Cary was more than just an artist; he was an adventurer, an observer, and a visual storyteller. Driven by a desire to experience the American West firsthand, he translated his journeys and observations into a substantial body of work that informed and captivated his contemporaries. His illustrations for Leslie's and Harper's brought the frontier into American homes, while his paintings offered more considered and often romanticized visions of its dramatic life and landscapes.
While navigating the complexities of representing cultures not his own, and working within the prevailing attitudes of his time, Cary produced a visual record that remains valuable for its detail, its narrative power, and its insight into the 19th-century American frontier. He stands as a key figure among those artists who endeavored to capture the essence of the West, contributing significantly to the enduring mythos and historical understanding of this pivotal chapter in American history. His dedication to his craft and his subject matter ensures his place in the annals of American art.
