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American Progress, (painting)

Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery

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Object Details

painter
Gast, John
Christie, Manson & Woods, International, Sale 7458 (May 28, 1992), lot 39.
American Heritage, Vol. IX, No. 3, April, 1958.
Summary
A woman with long blond hair, dressed in classical style in a flowing white gown that is off one shoulder, floats westward through the air. She is the figure of "Progress", and on her forehead is a gold star, the "Star of Empire." In her proper right arm she holds a book, and telegraph wire is looped around her elbow. In her proper left hand she is trailing the telegraph wire westward. On the ground below her, three trains travel westward, as do a stagecoach, a covered wagon, farmers with cattle, and men on horseback, including a pony express rider. In the left side of the painting, Indians and buffalo are retreating westward from Progress, leaving behind buffalo skeletons.
Culture
Indian
1872
Control number
IAP 81881012
Type
Paintings
Medium
Oil on canvas
Owner/Location
Museum of the American West 4700 Western Heritage Way Los Angeles California 90027
Title
Manifest Destiny, (painting)
Westward Ho, (painting)
Spirit of the Frontier, (painting)
Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums
Topic
Allegory--Other--Progress
Allegory--Other--Civilization
Allegory--Place--America
History--United States--Westward Expansion
Figure group
Ethnic
Animal--Buffalo
Travel--Land--Train
Travel--Land--Carriage
Travel--Land--Wagon
Landscape--United States
Record ID
siris_ari_219837
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply

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