Landscapes, wildlife, and Native people dominated the fascination with the early American West, but imagining that world is not easy. Fortunately, two talented and committed painters, one American and one European, left the future a rich and varied body of “Time Machine Visuals” of the Missouri River West in the 1830s. George Catlin was a Pennsylvanian whose life’s work was to be the historian of Native people. Catlin was a Romantic who believed preserving the West’s landscapes, animals, and Indian peoples was essential to the future. Karl Bodmer was the supremely talented painter on a Prussian prince’s 1833-4 journey up the Missouri, whose marvelous paintings have enabled modern Native people and Hollywood to re-discover the early West. Both men are celebrated now for their visual portrayals of a lost world. Thank you to our sponsor Velvet Buck: https://www.instagram.com/velvetbuckwine ---------------- Check out the gear the MeatEater Crew uses in the field here: https://store.themeateater.com Follow us: Web: https://www.themeateater.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/meateater Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StevenRinellaMeatEater Chapters 00:00 - Introduction: Time Machine Visuals of the Early West 28:13 - Velvet Buck Sponsor Message 30:09 - Discussion: Catlin's Prolific Work and Contemporary Rivalries 35:05 - Catlin's Revolutionary National Park Vision 39:17 - Bodmer: The Swiss Master of Western Art 42:05 - The Power of Visual History vs Poor Historical Art 45:10 - Multi-Dimensional Views on Native People in the 1830s 48:57 - Catlin's Bold Stand Against Andrew Jackson 51:46 - Closing Thoughts