White Robe
The Fremont County Pioneer Museum
Lander, Wyoming
Summer 2023
When I entered the Washakie Gallery inside the Lander Pioneer Museum, Brian Whelan’s White Robe exhibition alongside traditional Native American artwork had such a sense of connectedness, it reached well beyond powerful art sharing a space. This sacred place was brimming with the Spirit-driven life of the Rev. John Roberts and his journey on this earth.
Brian Whelan, an acclaimed Irish artist, is an exquisite storyteller. The 13 commissioned works of art capture each phase of the pastor’s existence. Starting with his early days in Wales and the Celtic culture that formed him, Whelan’s mixed-media art leads you through years and locales, finally planting Roberts at the Wind River Indian Reservation in 1883. Roberts faithfully devoted a life of service to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho for 66 years. Roberts was fondly nicknamed White Robe by the indigenous people of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming.
At first glance, Whelan’s skilled fusion of contemporary, folk art, mixed media, and vivid rich colors draws you in, but it is his sheer knowledge of the subject that keeps you locked in place, wanting to learn more. Indeed, he has the gift of story.
The exhibition has 12 works of art measuring 12-by-24 inches and one larger masterwork titled Servant of God, which is 36-by-48 inches.
A work titled Heritage was what I revisited again and again. The iconic images Whelan incorporated in the work were spot-on. Roberts understood the importance of Native American traditions, and how necessary they were as a whole, and individually to the members of the Wind River Reservation.
In the artwork, Whelan paints a tepee filled with young Native American girls around a drum. As the girls are striking, you can hear the continuing resonant beat of a prayer circle. The evening sky is deep with color, and a white dove, full of meaning, hovers above on the evening breeze. Lush green prairie grass says it is early in the summer, and there are red roses blooming wild in the tall grass.
Red roses are a symbol of the Shoshone Tribe. Nearby there is a small log church, with a warm light glowing over the doorway, an open invitation to come in, where you will be welcome. A white horse wanders in the background, free and proud.
White Robe stands outside the tepee. He is a sentinel keeping watch over the young girls, making sure no one disturbs them, as they worship Creator God in their familiar ways. There is a depth of peace that reaches out through this work. It will stay with me for a long time.
White Robe will travel to several sites in England and Wales in 2023 and 2024, before returning to a permanent home at the Fremont County Pioneer Museum.
For more details on White Robe, including a virtual tour of the exhibition, visit CARAVAN.
