Early Years of Native American Art History

The field of Native American art history (NAAH) and our idea of what comprises Indian art itself were molded largely by the policies of the museums and institutions that established their ethnological collections in the second half of the 19th century. Only now are we beginning to come to terms with what that era reveals about the history of our cultural tastes and about the history of anthropology. This collection of essays by art historians and anthropologists deals with the development of NAAH as a discipline rather than with particular art works or artists. The essays: ask how and why the field came into being, how it was shaped, and why it was defined and modified as it was. Illustrated.