American Progress

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]

For the newspaper, see American Progress (newspaper).
American Progress
ArtistJohn Gast
Year1872 (1872)
MediumOil on canvas
SubjectManifest destiny
Dimensions11 1/2 in x 15 3/4 in. (29.2 cm x 40 cm)
LocationAutry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, California
OwnerAutry Museum of the American West
Accession92.126.1
WebsiteExhibit website

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, symbolic 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. As she 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.

References
  1. Museum website entry
  2. "American Progress". Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  3. Sandweiss, Martha A. "John Gast, American Progress, 1872". Retrieved May 1, 2017.
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