The Art of Morgan Weistling

This past June, to the surprise of absolutely no one with their finger on the pulse of the art world, Morgan Weistling’s Indian Stories was announced as the winner of the 2008 Prix de West Purchase Award. About the painting Weistling said,“I wanted to capture the tradition of storytelling on canvas and worked on the idea for several years.The painting began with the idea of a grandfather telling stories of his adventures on the Oregon Trail. His grandchildren become completely absorbed by his tale of how he was befriended by the Blackfoot Indians and their gift of the pipe.While we can imagine that this is not the first time their grandmother has heard the story, her delight is in the children’s reactions.”

Like The Quilting Bee, 19th Century Americana, which took another of the Western art world’s highest honors, Indian Stories is destined itself to become a cherished part of American art history.