Frontier Artist-Adventurers: Art of the American West from 1832 to 1872
Open Access
- Author:
- Weaver, Mark Stephen
- Area of Honors:
- Interdisciplinary in History and Secondary Education
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Anne Carver Rose, Thesis Supervisor
Anne Carver Rose, Thesis Supervisor
Scott Alan Metzger, Thesis Honors Advisor
Catherine Wanner, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- American West
Frontier
Thomas Moran
Albert Bierstadt
George Catlin
Manifest Destiny
Nature - Abstract:
- This undergraduate thesis explores the character of the American West through the paintings of artist-adventurers George Catlin, Albert Bierstadt, and Thomas Moran from 1832 to 1872. The thesis identifies and defines five broad western ideals: democracy, opportunity, nature, individualism, and Manifest Destiny. This framework of western ideals is used to explain the life and artwork of each artist-adventurer. A brief biographical sketch of each artist is provided, along with an examination of selected works and how those works demonstrate western ideals. Each artist-adventurer sought preservationist, financial and artistic goals as they traveled into the West. The goals of the artists often conflicted with one another. The biggest difficulty the artists faced was the problem of painting untouched nature while living in an expansionist society. George Catlin struggled to balance the tension between what he perceived as inevitable expansion and the preservation of Indian culture. Albert Bierstadt portrayed the glories of pristine western nature but also supported the westward advancement of the United States. Thomas Moran ignored the realities of a disappearing frontier and instead created an imaginary and idealistic West which served as a national symbol. In the process of painting the untamed western frontier, the artist-adventurers contributed to the westward expansion of the dominant Anglo-American civilization and the disappearance of an unspoiled western landscape. In doing so, they ended up being inadvertent agents of an expansionist society. The thesis concludes with a brief explanation of how the study of art should not just focus on how art reflects society, but also how it can affect society. Finally, this thesis serves as a call for the study of contemporary art to be integrated into history classes.