Harvey, Miles (de Morgues, Jacques Le Moyne)

Painter in a Savage Land

ISBN: 9781400061204
New York, NY, USA: Random House, 2008. First Edition. Hardcover. Signed by Miles Harvey to Laurence & Nancy Goldstein. “Our nation was born in genocide.… We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or feel remorse for this shameful episode.”--Martin Luther King Jr. Miles Harvey (b. 1960) is an American author of, primarily, non-fiction and a host of short stories. Seemingly interested in the early American Frontier, Harvey’s works The Island of Lost Maps, and The King of Confidence are deeply researched and richly presented historical explorations of the nascent United States, its history of settler colonialism, and its implications. Similarly, today's offering, Painters in a Savage Land (2008), is a study on the first European artist in North America. From inside front flap of dust-jacket: “In this vibrantly told, meticulously researched book, Miles Harvey reveals one of the most fascinating and overlooked lives in American history. Like The Island of Lost Maps, his bestselling book about a legendary map thief, Painter in a Savage Land is a compelling search into the mysteries of the past. This is the thrilling story of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, the first European artist to journey to what is now the continental United States with the express purpose of recording its wonders in pencil and paint. Le Moyne’s images, which survive today in a series of spectacular engravings, provide a rare glimpse of Native American life at the pivotal time of first contact with the Europeans–most of whom arrived with the preconceived notion that the New World was an almost mythical place in which anything was possible. In 1564 Le Moyne and three hundred other French Protestants landed off the coast of Florida, hoping to establish the first permanent European settlement in the sprawling territory that would become the United States. Their quest ended in gruesome violence, but Le Moyne was one of the few colonists to escape, returning across the Atlantic to create dozens of illustrations of the local Native Americans–works of lasting importance to scholars. Today, he is also recognized as an influential early painter of flowers and plants. A Zelig-like persona, Le Moyne worked for some of the most prominent figures of his time, including Sir Walter Raleigh. Harvey’s research, moreover, suggests a fascinating link to the notorious Mary Queen of Scots. Largely forgotten until the twentieth century, Le Moyne’s pieces have become increasingly sought after in the art world–at a 2005 auction, a previously unknown book of his botanical drawings sold for a million dollars. In re-creating the life and legacy of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, Miles Harvey weaves a tale of both intellectual intrigue and swashbuckling drama. Replete with shipwrecks, mutinies, religious wars, pirate raids, and Indian attacks, Painter in a Savage Land is truly a tour de force of narrative nonfiction.” An expertly richly researched work augmented by Harvey’s compelling and erudite prose. From the collection of Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), poet, editor, and professor in the University of Michigan Department of English Language and Literature. Signed and inscribed at half-title page in thin blue ink by Miles Harvey to Laurence Goldstein & his wife, our good friend Nancy Goldstein: “To Nancy & Larry, / with gratitude, / friendship and best / wishes, / Miles Harvey.” Hardcover in unclipped dust-jacket. First edition as stated at copyright page, first printing as indicated by number sequence thereon. Book in very fine condition with only minimal wear to fine edges & corners; dust-jacket in very fine condition with minor wear to fine edges & corners, light smudging to front and back covers. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #8058]

Price: $50.00