''American Progress'' is an 1872 painting by John Gast, a Prussian-born painter, printer, and lithographer who lived and worked most of his life during 1870's Brooklyn, New York. ''American Progress'', an allegory of

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There were three basic tenets to the concept: * The special vir ...

, was widely disseminated in chromolithographic prints. It is now held by the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California.

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 United States of America was created on July 4, 1776, with the U.S. Declaration of Independence of thirteen British colonies in North America. In the Lee Resolution two days prior, the colonies resolved that they were free and independe ...

. The painting 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 Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

, 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 settlers who follow her either on foot or by

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

, horseback, Conestoga wagon, wagon train, or riding steam trains. Progress 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 that have already settled in the Midwest are featured in the foreground. As Lady Columbia moves westward, indigenous people and a herd of buffalo flee from her and the settlers who follow.

References

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 -
Works by Gast from the Department of Drawings and PrintsEntry 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
by Samantha Rothenberg {{Authority control 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