“From Far East to West: The Chinese American Frontier is an opportunity to expand on the works by Chinese American artists already in The James Museum collection and engage with Chinese American art and culture in a thought-provoking and visually captivating manner. The exhibition underscores The James Museum’s commitment to fostering a deeper understanding of Western and American art and history.”

—Emily Kapes, The James Museum Curator of Art

Mining

Z.S. Liang Frontier Artist

1906 Earthquake

Chinatowns & Exclusion

Festivals & Culture

Angel Island

Railroad

Women

Newspapers

Chinese Medicine

Immigration

Reflections

Immigration

Mining

Railroad

Chinatowns & Exclusion

Festivals & Culture

Chinese Medicine

1906 Earthquake

Newspapers

Angel Island

Women

Z.S. Liang Frontier Artist

Reflections
A label reading, Introduction While European American settlers gradually pushed the United States frontier westward throughout the 1800s, the West coast of the country was developing independently as well. Accelerated by the discovery of gold mid-century, the population boom included Chinese immigrants who crossed the Pacific Ocean to California. Most 19th century Chinese immigrants came to their new country from the coastal Canton region (province of Guangdong today) in southeastern China. Starting over on a different continent away from familiar surroundings and culture would be challenging, but for many decades anti-Chinese hostility and exclusion laws made settling in the United States even more difficult. The achievements of Chinese immigrants paved a path for future generations and are a testament to strength and perseverance. The foundation for the exhibition highlights narratives of Chinese America from the 1850s to the 1930s. The paintings — all created by Chinese Americans in the 21st century — reflect inspiration from this history. The painters are also fueled by their own, more recent immigration stories to the United States after China’s Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and their rigorous art training in the government-sponsored movement of Socialist Realism. After China opened to the rest of the world in the late 1970s, many Chinese artists — like Mian Situ, Jie Wei Zhou, Benjamin Wu, Hung Liu, and Z.S. Liang, all featured here — were inspired to immigrate to the United States in search of greater opportunity. Here, these artists’ historical interpretations speak to culture, identity, community, and resilience. Related objects and ephemera from the period support these stories. From the Gold Rush to Angel Island, this exhibition reveals often overlooked but significant contributions and perspectives of Chinese immigrants that deepen our understanding of U.S. history.
A label reading, This exhibition is organized by The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art. In addition to art from the Tom and Mary James Collection, we are grateful for loans from the Autry Museum of the American West, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, University of Wyoming Art Museum, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, History Colorado, Chinese Historical Society of America, and several private collectors. For their extensive and dedicated research, we appreciate historians Gordon H. Chang, Judy Yung, Him Mark Lai, Philip P. Choy, Dorothy Ko, and Ruthanne Lum McCunn. In addition, we are immensely grateful for the perspectives and expertise of Tina Bohn, Patricia Fung, and exhibition translator Kun Shi, all of the Suncoast Association of Chinese Americans (SACA).