Bison: Portrait of an Icon

An up-close look at the remarkable, distinctive bison and its cultural significance in the American West.

The first book of its kind, Bison: Portrait of an Icon tells the story of this distinctly American species—its history, majesty, cultural significance, and comeback story—through the stunning, dramatic photography of Audrey Hall. Tying together these visually captivating photographs is an extended essay by author Chase Reynolds Ewald, who weaves through her narrative voices of ranchers, policy makers, artists, and Native American tribal herd managers throughout the Great Plains and Mountain West.

Having been saved from the brink of extinction, the bison today—with its rugged, primitive build, its remarkable speed and hardiness, its primeval wooly hide, and its sheer strength—is a distinctly American icon. With a foreword by prominent natural history presenter and filmmaker John Heminway and an essay by Montana Poet Laureate Henry Real Bird, Bison: Portrait of an Icon is a book of beauty, depth, and lasting significance.

Rooted in the dirt of the American West, AUDREY HALL has been working with a camera for two decades. Her career in the visual arts includes over a hundred feature, commercial, documentary, book and fine art projects for a wide variety of national and international clients. A Rotary scholar, she studied photography at the renowned Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. She lives in Montana.

CHASE REYNOLDS EWALD has been writing about design, travel, and lifestyle for 25 years. A graduate of Yale and the Graduate School of Journalism and U.C. Berkeley, she is currently senior editor of Western Art & Architecture Magazine. She lives in California.