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Essays

Bierstadt, AlbertThe Democratic Ideal: The Mid-Nineteenth Century

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Across the Prairie

Artwork Facts

Albert Bierstadt

1830-1902
Across the Prairie
1864
oil on canvas
12 7/8 x 19 1/4 inches
signed and dated lower right
Museum purchase with funds donated anonymously
1969.2
Mansion: Landscapes (Gallery 4)

Analysis

Colonel Frederick Lander led a U.S. Army expedition to find a rail route from the Mississippi to the Pacific Coast. Albert Bierstadt went on this trip to record the beautiful scenery for Americans who had not ventured west. Paintings like this one provided inspiration for the westward migration, which became known as "manifest destiny" based on the nationalistic belief that God had given this land to Americans.