Comanches, Captives, and Germans: Wilhelm Friedrich’s drawings from the Texas frontier

AT THE TRAIL

Around 1848 Wilhelm Friedrich, a young German immigrant to Texas, completed three drawings that captured distinctive details of life on the frontier. Friedrich’s sketches feature the landscape and wildlife of the Texas Hill Country and dynamic scenes of cultural contact. Friedrich is the only artist known to have produced contemporaneous images of a Comanche captive while still in captivity. Authors of Comanches, Captives, and Germans: Wilhelm Friedrich’s Drawings from the Texas Frontier believe that Friedrich’s drawings hold unique insight to life of that time in present-day Kendall County.

Collaborators on this book include: Dr. Daniel J. Gelo, Dean and Professor of Anthropology Emeritus at the University of Texas at San Antonio and writer of several award-winning publications on the indigenous people of Texas and the Great Plains, C. B. “Hoppy” Hopkins, an architectural and cultural historian, Dr. Christopher J. Wickham, Professor of German Emeritus in the Department and Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Texas at San Antonio and writer of numerous works on German language, literature, art, and popular culture, and Bryden E. Moon Jr., a retired communications executive with extensive experience in Hill Country history. The authors use their combined expertise in Comanche culture, German immigration, art, and Hill Country history to explore the many layers of meaning in Friedrich’s drawings and ask the questions: Who was Wilhelm Friedrich? How did he come to Texas? What information does he pack into his drawing? How can we understand his work—as art, as data about Comanche life and customs, and as a record of German values and priorities in the New World?

This month, Dan Gelo and Chris Wickham will give an exclusive presentation at the Gathering Hall at Herff Farm examining Friedrich’s interpretation of his spirited wilderness surroundings through the cultural lens of the era. They will also discuss Wilhelm Friedrich’s connection to Boerne and Doctor Ferdinand Herff. A meet and greet and book signing will follow at the historic Herff House.

Please join us Saturday, July 15, at 10 a.m. for the presentation at the Gathering Hall and book signing at the Herff House at 12:00p. This is a free event. Limited copies of Comanches, Captives, and Germans will be available for purchase. Check our calendar for details and upcoming events at Cibolo. org/calendar.