American Progress

Painting by John Gast

For the newspaper, see American Progress (newspaper). For the 1937 mural, see Josep Maria Sert.

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American Progress

Artist| John Gast
Year| 1872 (1872)
Medium| Oil on canvas
Subject| Manifest destiny, Settler colonialism
Dimensions| 11 1/2 in × 15 3/4 in. (29.2 cm × 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 during the 1870s 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

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The painting American Progress, which is considered to be historically significant, is considered an important example of American Western Art, since it represents the Manifest Destiny and American westward expansion. This painting, which is 11.50 by 15.75 inches, (29.2 cm × 40.0 cm) was commissioned in 1872 by George Crofutt, a publisher of American Western travel guides and has since been frequently reproduced. The woman in the center is Columbia, the female personification of the United States. On her head is what Crofutt calls "The Star of the Empire." In the painting, Columbia represents progress, which moves from the light-skied East to the dark West, leading settlers who follow her either on foot or by stagecoach, horseback, Conestoga wagon, wagon train, or riding steam trains. Columbia is the figure of progress as she lays a telegraph wire with one hand and carries a school book in the other. On the right side of the painting, in the East, New York City can be seen in the background, while farmers who have settled in the Midwest are featured in the foreground. As Columbia moves westward, indigenous people and a herd of buffalo (bison) flee from her and the settlers who follow.

In the bottom right of the painting, farmers are diligently tilling a field, which shows the Midwest as a developed and colonized region. This symbolizes the migration of settlers from the East to the West. This movement was facilitated by treaties with native tribes, often resulting in the forced relocation of these tribes to smaller reservations with little compensation for their land.

## Significance

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John Gast uses this painting to convey the idea of manifest destiny that is widely known in America at this time. Much of the west was still occupied by Native Americans in 1872, but Gast portrays the idea that America was destined to expand to this area as part of Manifest Destiny.[2]

## References

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1. ^ "Autry's Collections Online – painting American Progress". The Autry Museum of the American West’s Collections Online. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024.
2. ^ Aikin, Roger Cushing (Autumn 2000). "Paintings of Manifest Destiny: Mapping the Nation". The University of Chicago Press. 14 (3): 79–89\. JSTOR 3109364. Retrieved December 5, 2023.

## External links

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* 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:

* Works by Gast from the Department of Drawings and Prints

* 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

* Works by Gast in the general Catalog
* New approved method of zinc etching or photo-zinc-engraving (1886), by Gast

* Beyond "American Progress": The Legacy of John Gast by Samantha Rothenberg