Two disparate worlds met in the life of Alexander Phimister Proctor: the art world centered in the eastern United States and the world of the western frontier. Proctor was a remarkable amalgam: a big-game hunter and intrepid explorer who felt at home in Paris or New York, and an academically trained artist who painted and sculpted the characters and wild creatures of the West.

This new edition of Proctor s autobiography provides a thorough introduction to a distinctively American artist whose monumental sculptures and statues adorn parks, public buildings, and museums, as well as private...