PAINTING IN THE NORTH: Alaskan Art in...

PAINTING IN THE NORTH: Alaskan Art in Anchorage Museum of History and Art by Kesler E. Woodward (University of Washington Press: $24.95; 160 pp., paperback original). The epic grandeur of Alaska’s mountains, glaciers, forests and shores offer a challenge few artists can resist. This attractive catalogue surveys 3 1/2 centuries of efforts to capture this beauty in images that range from Academic landscapes to multimedia works that blend Amerindian iconography with Western media. The many color illustrations suggest the rewards and frustrations of attempting to reproduce the magnificence of unspoiled nature.