1Two centuries ago, artists began painting the American West in watercolor. From firsthand portraits of Native Americans to dramatic landscapes, the visual story is told in The River Flows, Watercolors of the American West. It is an art exhibition and a history lesson together in a large (11 by 12.5 inches) 200 page coffee table book showcasing the work of 41 watercolorists. The paintings are large, generally one per page. There are biographies and stories of the artists and a timeline.

The early artists: Samuel Seymour, George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, Alfred Jacob Miller, Thomas Moran, Henry Farny, Helen Henderson Chain, Herman Hansen, Gaspard de Latoix, Charles Partridge Adams, Frederic Remington, Charles Marion Russell, Sven Birger Sandzén, John Edward Borein, Frank Tenney Johnson, Oscar Berninghaus, Maynard Dixon, Olaf Carl Seltzer, Gunnar Mauritz Widforss, Thomas Hart Benton, Jozef G. Bakos, William James, Robert Lougheed, Woodrow Wilson Crumbo, George Phippen, James Boren, Ray Swanson

The contemporary watercolorists: Morten E. Solberg Sr., Don Weller, Tom Perkinson, Ian Ramsay, William Matthews, Roland Lee, Jim House, Nelson Boren, Marlin Rotach, John Fawcett, Dean Mitchell, Kathy Sigle, Teal Blake, Joseph Oakes Alleman

Contributors: Stuart Johnson, Tucson, Arizona; Laurin McCracken, Fort Worth, Texas; Vicki Stavig, Bloomington, Minnesota.