Wild West: Plains to the Pacific, now at the Legion of Honor, features 175 artworks—paintings, prints, drawings, photography and sculpture—all from the Fine Arts Museums’ collection. In an impressive display of the variety of ways artists have interpreted the American West, this exhibition tours the myths and realities of wild west themes such as Indians, cowboys, agriculture, mining and development.

The opening gallery presents a bold juxtaposition of several large-scale works, including: Albert Bierstadt’s idealized vision of the California landscape as an American Eden in “California Spring,” (1875); Robert Bechtle’s photo realistic painting, “Four Palm Trees,” (1969); Navajo artist Emmi Whitehorse’s emotional interpretation of landscape, “Nature Makes A Leap V,” (1993); and Michael Light’s 2006 large-scale, black and white aerial photograph of burned forest at the Mono-Inyo Craters in eastern California’s Great Basin.

Wild West also pays tribute to the National Park Service, now celebrating its centennial. I’ve been to many of the National Parks, so I was delighted to see these works: Eadweard Muybridge’s albumen silver print, “Wm. H Seward, 85 Feet in Circumference. Mariposa Grove of Mammoth Trees, No. 51,” (1872); Thomas Moran’s oil painting, “Grand Canyon with Rainbow,” (1912); three color woodcuts that beautifully depict Yosemite by Chiura Obata (1930); and selections of Michael Schwab’s series of 4-color screen prints created for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in the mid 1990s.

Intended to complement the upcoming Ed Ruscha and the Great American West (DeYoung, July 16-Oct. 9), there’s a lot to discover at Wild West: Plains to the Pacific, on view at the Legion of Honor through September 11. 

Photos: (top to bottom, left to right)

Ester Hernandez, “Sun Mad,” 1982. Color screenprint on paper, 22 x 17 in. Museum purchase, Judge George Henry Cabaniss and Harriet Howell Cabaniss Memorial Fund 

Albert Bierstadt, “California Spring,” 1875. Oil on canvas, 54 1/4 x 84 1/4 in. FAMSF, presented to the City and County of San Francisco by Gordon Blanding

 Michael Schwab, “Marin Headlands,” from a series of posters for the Golden Gate National Parks, 1995. Color screenprint poster printed In four colors, 73 x 56 cm. FAMSF, Gift of the artist in memory of Paul and Ellie Traugh

Chiura Obata, “Setting Sun on Sacramento Valley, California,” 1930. Color woodcut, 15 5/8 x 10 15/16 in. FAMSF, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts