Window on the West

Window on the West © by Jenness Cortez –Acrylic on mahogany panel, 42 by 60 inches

Acrylic on mahogany panel • 42 by 60 inches • ©Jenness Cortez

A Contemplation on Thresholds and Creative Seeing

“Window on the West” invites the viewer to pause at a threshold—between what’s inside and outside, known and unknown, form and formless.

Like all of Jenness Cortez’s work, this painting is not merely an image to be observed, but rather an opportunity to explore and enrich your own native creative potentials.

A Window into Seeing

Windows have long served as symbols of perception. They frame the world while reminding us that every act of seeing is shaped by where we stand. In this work, the window becomes a quiet teacher. It invites us to ask: What am I seeing? From what perspective am I seeing? With what deeply held concepts am I seeing? And with what quality of one-pointed attention am I seeing?

The Role of Attention

In Yoga Science, clarity arises when the mind becomes still and focused enough to reflect deeper wisdom. The painting “Window on the West,” for example, does not demand interpretation. Instead, it offers space:

• space for contemplation
• space for receptivity
• space for inward listening

What is revealed depends not only on the painting—but on the readiness of the viewer.

Art as a Bridge

Here, art becomes a bridge between the inner and outer worlds. It invites discernment rather than distraction, and reminds us that true vision is not something we consume—it is something we cultivate.

In this way, “Window on the West” reflects the deeper purpose of the Jenness Cortez Teaching Museum: to show how attention, patience, and inner coherence allow meaning—and creativity—to emerge naturally.

A Threshold in History

Seen through this lens, “Window on the West” also opens onto the unfolding story of the American West.

In 1801, when Thomas Jefferson became president, two out of every three Americans lived within fifty miles of the Atlantic Ocean. Beyond that lay the vast Louisiana Territory—owned by France and largely unexplored.

In 1803, Jefferson purchased this territory—820,000 square miles—for $15 million, doubling the size of the nation. What was once criticized as “Jefferson’s Folly” is now recognized as the beginning of America’s westward expansion.

Two Centuries of Vision

“Window on the West” spans two centuries of that unfolding vision—from 1804, when Lewis and Clark began their westward expedition, to 2004 and the passing of President Ronald Reagan.

The painting gathers these moments into a single field of attention.

It invites us to reflect on how:

• imagination
• courage
• and foresight

shape both personal destiny and national history.

An Invitation

Ultimately, Window on the West is not only about history, or even about art.

It is about perception.

It invites you to stand at your own threshold—and to consider:

What do I see?
And how am I seeing it?

Explore the “Window on the West” Painting in Detail

Window on the West (detail) by ©Jenness Cortez

Window on the West (back wall detail)

On the back wall, left to right:

— Edward S. Curtis self portrait photogravure 1899

— “Fort Worth Five” front row left to right: Harry A. Longabaugh (Sundance Kid), Ben Kilpatrick (the Tall Texan), Robert Leroy Parker (Butch Cassidy), standing: Will Carver and Harvey Logan (Kid Curry) 1900 photograph by John Schwartz, Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery

— George Caleb Bingham (1861-1879)
“Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap” Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum

— Frederic Remington (1811-1909)
“In from the Night Herd” engraving after Remington drawing, “Harper’s Weekly” October 9, 1886
“Her Calf” en grisaille, Amon Carter Museum of American Art

— George Catlin (1796-1872)
Blackfoot Chief “Stu-mick-o-súcks (Buffalo Bull’s Back Fat) Head Chief, Blood Tribe” Smithsonian American Art Museum

— Annie Oakley (Phoebe Ann Mosey) studio portrait

— Col. W.F. Cody, 1908 Buffalo Bill lithograph

Window on the West (shelf detail)

On the shelf:

— Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902)
“Emigrants Crossing the Plains” The Butler Institute of American Art

— Kachina (Paiyatemu), Zuni late 19th century Brooklyn Museum

— Frederic Remington (1861-1909)
“The Broncho Buster” Bronze Metropolitan Museum

— 1901 $10 Legal Tender Bison Note

— Early 20th century buffalo skull

— Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936)
“The Kachina Painter” private collection

— Charles M. Russell (1864-1926)
“Bronc to Breakfast” watercolor, “National Geographic” January 1986, Montana Historical Society

Window on the West (photographs detail)

Carte de visite photographs:

— Gen. George Armstrong Custer, National Photographic Art Gallery

— Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota holy man and tribal chief

— Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Canary) frontierswoman and scout

— James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, lawman, gunfighter

— Sara Winnemucca, social reformer for Native American rights c.1880

— Chief Gall (Pizi) Hunkpapa Sioux 1881 photographed by David F. Barry, National Archives

— William S. Hart, silent film actor

— Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed (Belle) Starr, outlaw, Oklahoma Historical Society

— Frederic Remington at Yale, Dow Studios, Amon Carter Museum of American Art

— Lucia Darling, first Montana school teacher 1863, Beaverhead County Museum

— Red Cloud, photographed by Charles Milton Bell 1880

— Charles M. Russell, Harry Pollard photographer 1919, Brian W. Dippie Collection

— Black Elk, Oglala Lakota (Sioux) medicine man

— William Penn Adair “Will” Rogers humorist, 19th century photograph

— Chief Joseph, Nez Perce photogravure by Edward Curtis early 20th century

Window on the West (foreground detail)

Foreground display:

— Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860)
“Thomas Jefferson,” White House Historical Association

— Kiowa Moccasins c. 1870, private collection

— Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
“Dreams of Long Ago” Saturday Evening Post, August 13, 1927

— Apache knife and sheath 1870

— Colt 1851 Navy Revolver

— 1890 pocket watch, American Waltham Watch Company

— Acoma Olla (jar) c1770 private collection

— “Time” (magazine) Ronald Reagan Commemorative Issue, June 14, 2004

— Kachina, Kana-A Hopi c.1880