American Progress
American Progress | |
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Artist | John Gast |
Year | 1872 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Subject | Manifest destiny |
Dimensions | 11 1/2 in x 15 3/4 in. (29.2 cm x 40 cm) |
Location | Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, California |
Owner | Autry Museum of the American West |
Accession | 92.126.1 |
Website | Exhibit website |
American Progress is an 1872 painting by John Gast, a Prussian-born painter, printer, and lithographer who lived and worked most of his life in Brooklyn, New York. American Progress, an allegory of Manifest Destiny, was widely disseminated in chromolithographic prints. It is now held by the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California.[1]
Description[]
American Progress has become a seminal example of American Western art. The painting serves as an allegory for Manifest Destiny and American westward expansion. The 11.50 by 15.75 inches (29.2 cm × 40.0 cm) painting was commissioned in 1872 by George Crofutt, a publisher of American Western travel guides, and has been frequently reproduced. The woman in the center is Columbia, the personification of the United States, and on her head is what Crofutt calls "The Star of the Empire." Columbia moves from the light-skied east to the dark and treacherous West, leading white settlers who follow her either on foot or by stagecoach, horseback, Conestoga wagon, wagon train, or riding steam trains.[2] Progress lays a telegraph wire with one hand and carries a school book in the other. Additionally, seen on the right, are white farmers that have already settled in the Midwest. As Lady Columbia moves westward, indigenous people and a herd of buffalo are seen fleeing her and the settlers.[3]
American Progress visually portrays the process of American westward expansion. The figure of Columbia is ushering an era of modernization, development, and advancement to the West, which in the painting is portrayed as a dark and savage place, especially when compared to the eastern side of the painting. But, with the ushering in of these developments, the indigenous people living in the West and their way of life is cast out.[citation needed]
References[]
- ^ Museum website entry
- ^ "American Progress". Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ^ Sandweiss, Martha A. "John Gast, American Progress, 1872". Retrieved May 1, 2017.
External links[]
- Essay on Spirit of the frontier by historian Martha A. Sandweiss of Amherst College Includes high resolution version of the painting
- The Library of Congress -
- Entry in Goulding's New York City directory (1877), listing him as GAST JOHN, artist & lithographer, 39 Park pl. h B'klyn
- Short biography, list of references, and examples of work on askart.com
- Beyond "American Progress": The Legacy of John Gast by Samantha Rothenberg
- 1872 paintings
- Paintings in Los Angeles
- Bears in art
- Bison in art
- Books in art
- Cattle in art
- Deer in art
- Horses in art
- Native Americans in art
- Trains in art
- Water in art
- Wolves in art