Olivia
On the eve of the twentieth century, America already stretched from sea to shining sea. This great expansion of land began in the 1840s as the credo of Manifest Destiny and the promise of the West reinvigorated Americans who feared their country’s ideals were withering away. The potential of this land sparked popular curiosity and enthusiasm, vital ingredients to the birth of a new artistic focus. Gravitating toward this subject of widespread interest, artists both glorified the push West and foresaw its ultimately devastating consequences. Their artwork defined the American perception of the frontier, playing upon desires for wealth and power, a blank slate from which to begin anew, and an escape from the burdens of life along the eastern seaboard. In the process, artists fed the American fire for westward expansion.
Artists first turned to the subject of the land itself, the cradle for future civilization. Oftentimes, depictions would focus on the purity of the untouched landscape, free of civilizing influences. Extoled as the noble, natural condition of Earth, this was an environment for a fresh start. George Caleb Bingham glorified the frontier, as his childhood in remote Missouri inspired him to petition for western settlement. His pieces emphasize the eerie peace that pervades beyond the frenzy of urban America. In Fur Traders Descending the Missouri, completed in 1845, a subject customarily filled with action, the navigation of a vast river, is infused with a still, reverent tranquility. Despite the soft trail of smoke drifting behind the father figure and the gentle ripples cast by the canoe, little movement charges the picture. Instead, Bingham directs the viewer’s attention to the changing light. The rising sun illuminates the scene, and in typical luminist fashion, the soft, hazy atmosphere glows with a rich spectrum of muted colors. Light falls upon the figures’ faces making them one with nature. The artist grounds the enormity of the vast landscape with his inclusion of man’s presence as the fur traders’ eyes lock with those of the viewer. Immediately, Bingham lures us into this pristine environ, and we, alongside the painting’s subjects, are immersed in the beauty of the land.
Yet as Americans ventured into the deep wildernesses of the West, the inhabitants of the land captured their interest as well. Finding a fresh source of inspiration in foreign cultures, artists captured the unique traditions, styles, and appearances of the Native Americans and, in the process, dissolved many remaining ambiguities impeding western understanding. George Catlin featured his prolific body of work depicting native people in his Indian Gallery, opening his studies of Indian nations to the public eye. When painting his subjects, the artist kept careful record of the objects and people he immortalized. Painted in 1832, his celebrated portrait of the second highest chief of the Mandan, Máh-to-tóh-pa, was supplemented by the artist’s documentation of the warrior’s history, traditionally only remembered orally. Conforming to the practice of customary Western portraiture that stresses accuracy and precision, the artist startled Native Americans with the realism of the work. But given that native works of the time often denoted identity with clothing and regalia, Catlin highlights the subject’s traditional garb, most notably his headdress of eagle feathers and ermine skins. As a sign of status, Máh-to-tóh-pa’s head is crowned by split buffalo horns, a marking of great valor. Catlin fuses the western style of realism with the Indian emphasis on traditional clothing, constructing a piece that is both accessible and educational for either culture.
Yet as artists attracted great attention to the beauty of the people and land in America’s new territories, they predicted the devastating ramifications that this glorification would bring. Imagining the peace they worshiped consumed by the disease of industrialization, artists pictured untouched land abutting pictures of urban life. Modern viewers can now appreciate the truth in these pessimistic visions, but at the time, these paintings were a desperate cry for a careful evaluation of westward expansion. Asher B. Durand’s 1853 painting entitled Progress features a group of Native Americans on the still natural hills observing American settlement of the land below. Set on the western reaches of the continent, the Indians homelands have been torn from them, leaving them with no place to turn. As the sun sinks into the horizon, Durand marks a close to an era of purity on the American continent. The impending darkness will see the destruction of the land’s grandeur and the devastation to its original inhabitants.
The electrifying power of Manifest Destiny that consumed America in the second half of the 19th century was pondered by artists of the era. Glorifying the simplicity of life in the West and mourning its inevitable demise, these painters grappled with the consequences of westward expansion. Would frontiersmen find a land where opportunity abounded? Would they learn from new and enriching cultures? Would they ultimately destroy the striking landscape? The questions that pervaded national politics of the time are evident in the artists’ works.
Works Cited
Miller, Angela, et al. American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity. London: Prentice Hall, 2008. 273-275. 209-239.
Images Cited
“Asher Brown Durand.” 2012. Wikipedia. 16 January 2013.
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asher_Brown_Durand>.
“Fur Traders Descending the Missouri.” 2012. The Metropolitan Museum of American Art. 16 January 2013.
< http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/20010501?img=0>.
Smithsonian Institute for American Art. “George Catlin.” Campfire Stories with George Catlin. 16 January 2013.
<http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/catlinclassroom/catlin_browsec.cfm?ID=138>.
On the eve of the twentieth century, America already stretched from sea to shining sea. This great expansion of land began in the 1840s as the credo of Manifest Destiny and the promise of the West reinvigorated Americans who feared their country’s ideals were withering away. The potential of this land sparked popular curiosity and enthusiasm, vital ingredients to the birth of a new artistic focus. Gravitating toward this subject of widespread interest, artists both glorified the push West and foresaw its ultimately devastating consequences. Their artwork defined the American perception of the frontier, playing upon desires for wealth and power, a blank slate from which to begin anew, and an escape from the burdens of life along the eastern seaboard. In the process, artists fed the American fire for westward expansion.
Artists first turned to the subject of the land itself, the cradle for future civilization. Oftentimes, depictions would focus on the purity of the untouched landscape, free of civilizing influences. Extoled as the noble, natural condition of Earth, this was an environment for a fresh start. George Caleb Bingham glorified the frontier, as his childhood in remote Missouri inspired him to petition for western settlement. His pieces emphasize the eerie peace that pervades beyond the frenzy of urban America. In Fur Traders Descending the Missouri, completed in 1845, a subject customarily filled with action, the navigation of a vast river, is infused with a still, reverent tranquility. Despite the soft trail of smoke drifting behind the father figure and the gentle ripples cast by the canoe, little movement charges the picture. Instead, Bingham directs the viewer’s attention to the changing light. The rising sun illuminates the scene, and in typical luminist fashion, the soft, hazy atmosphere glows with a rich spectrum of muted colors. Light falls upon the figures’ faces making them one with nature. The artist grounds the enormity of the vast landscape with his inclusion of man’s presence as the fur traders’ eyes lock with those of the viewer. Immediately, Bingham lures us into this pristine environ, and we, alongside the painting’s subjects, are immersed in the beauty of the land.
Yet as Americans ventured into the deep wildernesses of the West, the inhabitants of the land captured their interest as well. Finding a fresh source of inspiration in foreign cultures, artists captured the unique traditions, styles, and appearances of the Native Americans and, in the process, dissolved many remaining ambiguities impeding western understanding. George Catlin featured his prolific body of work depicting native people in his Indian Gallery, opening his studies of Indian nations to the public eye. When painting his subjects, the artist kept careful record of the objects and people he immortalized. Painted in 1832, his celebrated portrait of the second highest chief of the Mandan, Máh-to-tóh-pa, was supplemented by the artist’s documentation of the warrior’s history, traditionally only remembered orally. Conforming to the practice of customary Western portraiture that stresses accuracy and precision, the artist startled Native Americans with the realism of the work. But given that native works of the time often denoted identity with clothing and regalia, Catlin highlights the subject’s traditional garb, most notably his headdress of eagle feathers and ermine skins. As a sign of status, Máh-to-tóh-pa’s head is crowned by split buffalo horns, a marking of great valor. Catlin fuses the western style of realism with the Indian emphasis on traditional clothing, constructing a piece that is both accessible and educational for either culture.
Yet as artists attracted great attention to the beauty of the people and land in America’s new territories, they predicted the devastating ramifications that this glorification would bring. Imagining the peace they worshiped consumed by the disease of industrialization, artists pictured untouched land abutting pictures of urban life. Modern viewers can now appreciate the truth in these pessimistic visions, but at the time, these paintings were a desperate cry for a careful evaluation of westward expansion. Asher B. Durand’s 1853 painting entitled Progress features a group of Native Americans on the still natural hills observing American settlement of the land below. Set on the western reaches of the continent, the Indians homelands have been torn from them, leaving them with no place to turn. As the sun sinks into the horizon, Durand marks a close to an era of purity on the American continent. The impending darkness will see the destruction of the land’s grandeur and the devastation to its original inhabitants.
The electrifying power of Manifest Destiny that consumed America in the second half of the 19th century was pondered by artists of the era. Glorifying the simplicity of life in the West and mourning its inevitable demise, these painters grappled with the consequences of westward expansion. Would frontiersmen find a land where opportunity abounded? Would they learn from new and enriching cultures? Would they ultimately destroy the striking landscape? The questions that pervaded national politics of the time are evident in the artists’ works.
Works Cited
Miller, Angela, et al. American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity. London: Prentice Hall, 2008. 273-275. 209-239.
Images Cited
“Asher Brown Durand.” 2012. Wikipedia. 16 January 2013.
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asher_Brown_Durand>.
“Fur Traders Descending the Missouri.” 2012. The Metropolitan Museum of American Art. 16 January 2013.
< http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/20010501?img=0>.
Smithsonian Institute for American Art. “George Catlin.” Campfire Stories with George Catlin. 16 January 2013.
<http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/catlinclassroom/catlin_browsec.cfm?ID=138>.