“The Rise of the West” is one of the most important books written on the subject of world history. While the book has had thousands of readers, few have noted the elegant illustrations drawn by artist Bela Petheo. A superficial glance at these illustrations would see only simple drawings, but such a glance would miss the expressive, complex visual narratives depicted.
This exhibition invites the viewer to look deeply at these overlooked images.
Credits
David J. Staley, exhibition curator and designer
Lucy Shelton Caswell, University Libraries Exhibits Committee Liaison
For their very helpful comments and advice on the beta version of this exhibition, the designer thanks Chris Aldridge, Alan Beyerchen, Mansel Blackford, John Burnham, William Childs, Meredith Clark-Wiltz, Rapp Crook, David Dennis, Christopher Elias, Carole Fink, Donna Guy, Susan Hartmann, Stuart Hobbs, Kristina Markel, Ryan McMahon, Deirdre McMurtry, Sarah Shippy, Colin Stephenson, and Richard Ugland.
Thanks also to the University of Chicago Press for their permission to publish the images from The Rise of the West.
And very special thanks to Bela Petheo, for the hours of interviews he granted and for the access to his private papers and sketches.
Conditions of Use
The materials on this Website have been made available for use in research, teaching and private study. For these purposes, you may reproduce (print, make photocopies, or download) materials from this site without further permission on the condition that you provide the following attribution of the source on all copies: Picturing History: Bela Petheo. For any other use, please contact David Staley. All terms of use must be observed.
Contact Information
David J. Staley
staley.3@osu.edu
Associate Professor, Department of History
210 Dulles Hall
230 Annie & John Glenn Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210