Jessica Crabtree

This clever little Flash interactive profiles each of the colors of the spectrum and their functions in art and symbolism. Not much science, but features a fully-interactive color lab (see screenshot below). Very cute and enjoyable for young artists (or the young at heart). Also available in a Spanish version.

Color in Motion: Flash Presentation

(Click screenshots for larger view)

March 27, 1814: The Battle of Horseshoe Bend

By the time of the War of 1812, the new American republic was only beginning to expand into the Midwest and much of the deep South. Because Britain had lost its claim to American territory, it turned its support instead to the many Indian nations and confederacies – such as Tecumseh’s alliance – resisting American expansion. This forced nations like the Cherokee, Creek, and Choctaw – Britain’s former allies – to weigh the pros and cons of a strategic alliance with the Americans. The significant degree of cultural assimilation among these so-called “civilized tribes” led to deep rifts that divided their societies. The Creek nation of modern-day Georgia and Alabama effectively split into half over the issue of American support.

A splinter group of the Creeks known as the Red Sticks used hit-and-run tactics on the frontier as a violent expression of the resistance movement. After several successful military encounters throughout the mid-south, the Red Sticks faced a buildup of US militia led by up-and-coming Andrew Jackson. Jackson’s soldiers, and Indian allies under his command, met the Red Stick force at a bend of the Tallapoosa River in central Alabama in 1814. The result was a devastating loss to the Creek resistance, leaving most Red Sticks killed and the survivors fleeing to the Everglades with other Creek refugees.

Diorama at Horseshoe Bend Park Museum (Public domain)

Although the Red Sticks were only a faction of the Creek nation, the US government interpreted their actions as representing all Creeks. Their defeat in this battle meant that the entire Creek nation was forced to relinquish claim to their homelands and would eventually become subject to the mass removals of the 1830s. It also helped to launch the career of Andrew Jackson into one of the most powerful and ruthless opponents of Indians’ rights.

Chief Junaluska, a US-allied Cherokee who had saved Jackson’s life during the battle of Horseshoe Bend, later said, “If I had known that Jackson would drive us from our homes, I would have killed him at Horseshoe.”

See also:

Wikipedia: The Battle of Horseshoe Bend
Horseshoe Bend at Explore Southern History
Muskogee (Creek) Nation
We Shall Remain: Tecumseh’s Vision

FOOTNOTE: History Channel’s documentary on the life and career of Andrew Jackson airs this Friday, April 2 – check your local schedule. It gives an in-depth look at his early involvement in the Creek War and the War of 1812 (including the events at Horseshoe Bend) and his later role in the Indian Removals. Definitely worth seeing.

March 19, 1864: Birth of Western artist Charles Marion Russell

Raised in Missouri, Russell showed an early fascination with art and the West. He realized both at 16 when he left home to work on a Montana sheep ranch, where his obvious creative talent quickly drew attention. His early experiences in the northern Great Plains led to a prolific body of paintings depicting Western life and landscapes, including many portraits of the Piegan, Crow, Cree and other Indian nations before the onset of the reservation era.

Left: “A Cree Indian”
Above: “The Beauty Parlor”

By 1897 he opened a studio in Great Falls, Montana, where his career burgeoned under the shrewd management of his wife, Nancy. His works quickly became popular with collectors across the country, including celebrities such as Will Rogers. Like Rogers, he was renowned for his earthy wit and sincerity, and his deep attachment to the land he loved so much. He died in 1926 leaving thousands of paintings and sketches, bronze sculptures and carvings, and numerous literary works, all influential in memorializing the West in its Golden Age.

The Charles Marion Russell Museum
http://www.cmrussell.org/

Extensive online gallery of Russell’s paintings:
http://www.charlesmarionrussell.org/

“This is the only real American.
He fought and died for his country.
Today he has no vote
No country and is not a citizen
But history will not forget him.” (1914)

While this next-door neighbor to red in the color spectrum may not be as intense, perhaps no other color best conveys warmth. Orange tones blend the best of sunlight and shadow. They are a predominant feature in palettes of earth tones, and coordinate very well with adjacent brown colors, or with opposites such as turquoise or violet.

Orange chalks, paints, and clays are usually made from pigments containing ochres.

National Geographic Photo Gallery: Life in Color – ORANGE

History Channel’s 2-hour documentary, first released in 1999, airs on History International this Tuesday, March 16 (check your local listings).

The History Channel description:

The grandson of one of Custer’s Native-American scouts tells the stories handed down to him about the battle that has become a touchstone of American history.

The battle of the Little Big Horn–”Custer’s Last Stand,”–has been examined and re-examined so many times that it would seem the subject has been exhausted. But LITTLE BIG HORN: THE UNTOLD STORY proves otherwise.

The product of over twenty years of research by Dr. Herman J. Viola, Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution, this study draws on some of the most impressive source material imaginable, including restored footage of the first-ever reconstruction of the battle, filmed in 1908 with many of the Native Americans who took place in the real fight. The Red Horse drawings–40 vivid color portraits made by an eyewitness–offer another privileged view of the famous battle. But perhaps most intriguing are the on-camera accounts of Dr. Medicine Crow, who as a young man knew five of the six Crow scouts in Custer’s employ, as well as Sioux and Cheyenne veterans of the fight.

Through these authoritative accounts, kept silent and unseen for decades, a remarkably cohesive, new view of the legendary battle emerges. This is a must-have DVD for anyone who wants to know what really happened at the Little Big Horn.

Also highly recommended is the Battlefield Detectives special on Little Bighorn, released in 2003. Using forensic archaeology and ballistics, researchers have been able to overturn most traditional accounts of the battle and recreate the actual course of events on the field, including new details about the condition of the soldiers on both sides.

Right: View of the Little Big Horn River from Last Stand Hill, from the National Park Service.

See also:

LITTLE BIG HORN: THIS DAY IN HISTORY

A pride of young white lions from South Africa.

March 7, 1826: The first permanent photograph is taken by Nicephore Niepce

This 8 hour exposure, View from the Window at Le Gras, was made by French inventor Nicephore Niepce (1765-1833) using a camera obscura. Although no one person can claim to have invented photography, Niepce’s work laid the foundation for many important innovations by others such as Daguerre and Eastman.

The original plate was lost for many years, and now resides in the collection of University of Texas.
View the exhibit here:
University of Texas Exhibitions: The First Photograph

Read more about photography’s development in this Answers.com article:
Answers.com: “When was photography invented?”

The official website of the Niepce museum, featuring many of his inventions. (Note: this website is mechanically translated from French.)
www.nicephore-niepce.com