“A Study of ‘End of the Trail’: A New Interpretation…” presentation, Museum of the Western Prairie

On Tuesday, July 5, at 7 p.m. the Western Trail Historical Society will host Chandra Boyd’s presentation, “A Study of James Earle Fraser’s ‘End of the Trail’: A New Interpretation for the Image of the Defeated Native American” at the Museum of the Western Prairie in Altus. American artist James Earle Fraser’s sculpture, a representation of an American Indian on horseback, has endured to become one of the most recognizable images in the United States. Boyd’s presentation will focus on Fraser’s stylistic development of the sculpture and its impact on popular culture.

Fraser reworked his ‘End of the Trail’ sculpture numerous times in preparation for an eighteen-foot-tall monumental version of the work created in plaster exclusively for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California. From 1912 to 1913, Chief John Big Tree of the Seneca Tribe served as a model in Fraser’s New York studio, posing for ‘End of the Trail’ as well as for the famed Buffalo Nickel.

In 1967 the National Cowboy Hall of Fame (now the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum) in Oklahoma City acquired Fraser’s studio collection. Over the course of his career Fraser created numerous other sculptures, including several smaller bronze castings of ‘End of the Trail.’ The 1915 version remains on exhibit at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Boyd is an arts administrator and educator with nearly twenty years of experience in positions at the Oklahoma Arts Council, Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Her master’s thesis, “A Study of James Earle Fraser’s ‘End of the Trail’ : A New Interpretation for the Image of the Defeated Native American,” has been published by the University of Michigan.

This program is free and open to the public. Please contact the Museum of the Western Prairie for more information at 580-482-1044 or muswestpr@okhistory.org. Regular hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Museum of the Western Prairie is located at 1100 Memorial Drive in Altus.