Original oil and giclee prints available.
The Ohio River Valley In the Eighteenth Century
What Was It Really Like?
Today it is hard to imagine the Ohio River Valley was once a wild, untamed wilderness. As the first European settlers traveled west through the Appalachian Mountains and beyond, the immense forests that towered over them were a source of wonder but also terrifying. Because these forests were allowed to grow undisturbed for centuries, early accounts describe some places where the canopy was so dense that the sunlight never penetrated to the ground. Some of the early settlers and explorers described in their journals how they could travel for miles beneath oak, poplar, cherry and beech trees as wide as six to seven feet across. There were also accounts of trees so large that close to thirty people could fit inside some of them.
Elk, mountain lion, buffalo and bear are just a few of the creatures that roamed the great wilderness of the Ohio Valley. There were also spectacular birds such as the Carolina Parakeets that were as colorful and beautiful as to rival the tropical birds of the Amazon Basin. The Passenger Pigeons were probably the most numerous bird on the planet. Their flocks, a mile wide and up to three hundred miles long , were so dense that they darkened the sky for hours and sometimes days as the flock passed overhead. Sadly, these two species of birds are now extinct.
The Eastern Woodland Indians called this great forest home and believed that they were a part of nature not at odds with it. They could not understand the white man's concept of ownership. The land and all living creatures on it were a gift from their great spirit Mannitto. They only took what they needed. They saw the land as a treasure in trust given to them only to use wisely and well and then pass on to future generations. Only now in the twenty first century are we starting to embrace this concept. In some ways the Native Americans were ahead of their time.
When we think of the Eastern Woodland Indians we think of them as fierce warriors defending their families and way of life from the encroachment of the white man. But what was day-to-day life like for them? How did they dress, live and relate to one another? What do we know of their culture? Mary Louise Holt, who grew up and still lives in the Ohio Valley, has often asked herself these questions.
As an accomplished and experienced artist Mary Louise Holt is bringing the Ohio Valley wilderness and its native people back to life on canvas. This vast frontier and its native people are gone now. But she hopes through this visual history we can learn to care more about our natural heritage that remains. She hopes these images are a reminder that when a culture or species is gone it is gone forever. She also hopes these exciting images, from another time in our history, will give the collector a sense of connection to our past and pleasure for many years to come.
