Busman's Holiday

(April 20, 2017) Council Bluff’s IA, Omaha, NE

Thursday I played hooky. I forwarded my work telephone and headed with my friend and art mentor, Dr. Ed Welch to Omaha, and Council Bluffs for a day trip to a familiar historic site and a first class art exhibit.  

Our first stop for me an encore was at the Historic Dodge House in Council Bluffs. Grenville Melin Dodge is one of those historic figures you have never heard of, though you have seen his picture. In the famous picture celebrating the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Grenville Dodge is one of the men shaking hands in front of the two railroad engines.

Grenville Dodge was one of those men in the second half of the 19^th Century who exemplified America’s manifest destiny. He was successful in the military, politics, railroad building, and as a Wall Street financier.  

Dodge’s highlight reel includes service in the Civil War obtaining the rank of Major General and distinguishing himself at the Battle of Pea Ridge and the Siege of Atlanta. As a railroad builder, besides being the Chief Engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad, Dodge built and or financed several railroads including the Texas & Pacific, and railroads in Europe, South America, and Russia. Dodge behind the scenes essentially controlled the Republican Party in Iowa for over fifty years. Dodge and his brother Nathan (N.P.) Dodge were major developers in Omaha and Council Bluffs and had significant business interests there in banking and real estate. 

The beautiful Dodge House was built in 1869 at a cost of $35,000. It has been painstakingly restored with much of the original furniture. The home tells the Dodge story. A significant factoid is that five Republican Presidents dined at the General’s home.

In addition to the Council Bluff’s home, the General lived in a private rail car and maintained a home in New York City. Dodge was a close associate of General and President U S Grant. When Grant’s Tomb was dedicated on New York City’s Riverside Drive in 1897, Dodge was Grand Marshall of the Parade at the dedication.

After our history lesson and a quick lunch at The Cheesecake Factory Ed and I reached the Josyln Art Museum to see the current exhibition Wild Spaces, Open Seasons, Hunting and Fishing in American Art.  Admission was a modest $10.

This honestly first class exhibition was a look at American art's fascination with hunting and fishing. The exhibit was curated by the Joslyn Art Museum, my Mother Ship – The Amon Carter Museum of American Art (Fort Worth) and the Shelburne Museum (Shelburne, Vermont). Wild Spaces will be traveling to Cowtown this autumn.

Relating to hunting and fishing throughout the exhibit the artwork emphasized several themes:

Men hunted to support themselves and their family

Hunting and fishing was an outdoor sport of the leisurely upper class

Hunting could be a hazardous adventure. 

Hunting portrayed mythical stories

Hunting transformed a young nation into an industrial power

The vanishing wilderness

There were many art pieces, primarily oil on canvas and sculpture demonstrating and reinforcing these themes. Included were many objects by some of America’s greatest artists representing many genres. Some important major pieces were on display.

A few of the artists shown were Thomas Eakins, William Merritt Chase, Rockwell Kent, Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt, George Caleb Bingham, Martin Johnson Heade, William R Leigh, Alfred Jacob Miller, Frederic Remington, John Singer Sargent, Charles M Russell, N C Wyeth, Marsden Hartley, Doug Manship, William Hartnett, August Saint-Gaudens, and Edward S Curtis.

I was introduced to a new wildlife artist, Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait who I liked and hope to learn more about.

One sculpture that particularly appealed to me was Diana by Saint-Gaudens. The sculpture was a casting of the original designed for atop the tower on the original Madison Square Garden.

One point the exhibition made that struck me was a quote attributed to  Ralph Waldo Emerson who “encouraged Americans to relate to the land as a means of cultivating a national identity.”

Our road trip was an enjoyable escape.