Skip to main content

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Advanced Search
Life Before the Pioneer Era by Richard Guy Walton
Photo CreditPhoto courtesy of Page Conservation, Inc.
Life Before the Pioneer Era
Photo CreditPhoto courtesy of Page Conservation, Inc.

Life Before the Pioneer Era

Artist
Year1966
Classification painting
Medium oil on canvas
Dimensions76 1/2 x 300 in. (194.3 x 762 cm)
Credits Commissioned through the Fine Arts in New Federal Buildings Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Location
  • Triptych consists of Nevada bluebird, unofficial state bird, which symbolizes light, movement, and space; wild horses, which exemplify desert freedom; and, Indian spirit bears which witness to man, nature, and time.  Dividing the triptych are bands of pre-historic Indian petroglyphs.  Original markings were found beside the Truckee River in the mountain pass east of Sparks, Nevada, a site known as the "altar of antiquity".  The ancient markers of these signs pre-date the Washoes, Shoshones, or Paiutes.