Looking For Humboldt: & Searching for German Footprints in New Mexico and Beyond

Book Synopsis: After closures due to the pandemic, the landmark “Humboldt & The Unites States” exhibit at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum reopened on May 14, 2021. Humboldt visited the United States for only six weeks, but in that time, he changed America and American art permanently. His impact was profound and his name is everywhere. Erika Schelby’s Looking For Humboldt is a fitting book to complement the exhibit. It covers Humboldt’s ideas and his down-to-earth influence on those who worked in the field while exploring the Southwest. Humboldt was a cosmopolitan scientist and a Prussian-German. Today, at least 46 million Americans continue to claim German descent. Their contributions are vast. Before World War I, this heritage was evident throughout American society. It was erased during World War I. A century later, it is reasonable to ask: why this large demographic group of solid citizens is wrapped in so much silence? Did these Americans forget how to think, read, or write? With Humboldt’s spirit inspiring her work, Schelby discards the silence.