Apache Indians on Horseback c. 1910

Herman Wendelborg Hansen made this watercolor painting, Apache Indians on Horseback, sometime between 1880 and 1920. Hansen creates a romanticized vision of the American West, one that overlooks the brutal realities of colonial expansion. The painting’s visual codes evoke the “Wild West” genre, popular at the time, portraying Indigenous peoples as exotic and warlike. The Apache warriors are depicted charging down a rocky slope, weapons raised, embodying a stereotype. But this image was made during a period of intense conflict and forced assimilation, when the U.S. government was systematically dispossessing Native Americans of their lands and cultures. Hansen's portrayal, while seemingly admiring, ignores the political and historical context of the Apache people’s struggle for sovereignty. Understanding this artwork requires historical research beyond its aesthetic appeal. By examining the social and institutional forces at play during its creation, we can begin to unpack its complex relationship to the history it depicts.