We are proud to announce that the book The Transforming Image by MOA curators Bill McLennan and Karen Duffek has made the top 25 list of American Indian Art magazine’s most influential books on Native American Art published over the last four decades. Below is the excerpt from the magazine.

In celebration of forty years of American Indian Art Magazine, the editorial staff polled members of our Editorial Advisory Board about the most influential books on Native American art that have been published over the last four decades. We are presenting the results of that poll in each issue of Volume 40.

Struck by the dynamic character of a ninteenth-century Northwest Coast painted chest that he had seen many times, McLennan photographed it for closer study. Infrared film produced surprising results. As the complete painting emerged from beneath the weathered surface, painted areas that had been obscured could now be seen clearly. With this discovery, the Image Recovery Project was born, focusing on producing a database of infrared photographs of historical Northwest Coast paintings.