Westward+the+Course+of+Empire

Date: 1861
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1931/1931.6.1_1a.jpg?itok=etkYfVTC width="411" height="320" link="@https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/westward-course-empire-takes-its-way-mural-study-us-capitol-14569"]] || Title: **Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (mural study, U.S. Capitol)**

Artist: **Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze** Born: Schwabisch-Gmund, Germany 1816 Died: Washington, District of Columbia 1868

Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: 33 1/4 x 43 3/8 in. (84.5 x 110.1 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Bequest of Sara Carr Upton

Accession: 1931.6.1 || Leutze's mural study for the Capitol in Washington celebrated the idea of Manifest Destiny just when the Civil War threatened the republic. The surging crowd of figures records the births, deaths, and battles fought as European Americans settled the continent to the edge of the Pacific. Like Moses and the Israelites who appear in the ornate borders of the painting, these pioneers stand at the threshold of the Promised Land, ready to fulfill what many nineteenth-century Americans believed was God's plan for the nation.
 * Exhibition Label: **

“Let me propose, that a series of pictures representing the history of our country may be painted for the capitol, with just regard to the truth of history, with regard to the exhibition of the glorious examples of our great men for the benefit of future generations, and as a token of a nations glory, that they may be continued as our history advances…” Excerpt from Emanuel Leutze’s letter to Montgomery C. Meigs, Captain of the U.S. Engineers on February 14, 1854

//Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way//, the title of this mural, comes from a poem by Irish bishop George Berkeley entitled "America or the Muse's Refuge: a Prophesy". The final mural hangs in the US House of Representatives side of the Capitol building. Leutze's mural study for the capitol in Washington celebrated the idea of Manifest Destiny just when the Civil War threatened the republic. The surging crowd of figures records the births, deaths, and battles fought as European Americans settled the continent to the edge of the Pacific. Like Moses and the Israelites who appear in the ornate borders of the painting, these pioneers stand at the threshold of the Promised Land, ready to fulfill what many nineteenth-century Americans believed was God's plan for the nation. Suggested Questions: Start by splitting your group into two and having one look closely at the land and the other look closely at the people.
 * About the Artwork: **
 * How does the land tell the story of Westward migration? How does it change from right to left?
 * How do the people tell the story of Westward migration? What types of different people are represented?
 * What does this painting say about the experience of going West?
 * How do these people feel about their future? How does the artist show their hope or worry?

Leutze Lesson Land and Landscape Learning to Look Dan Lewis' Article "Emanuel Leutze's Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way" Oregon Trail Teaching American History (Elementary) Notes Leutze Art and Empire Leutze Letter Leutze Mural Approved by the 37th Congress
 * Resources: **

wounded soldier ||
 * Details: **
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1931/1931.6.1_2a.jpg?itok=Gy2_fDFt width="147" height="131"]] || holy family || [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1931/1931.6.1_3a.jpg?itok=Oi0py1ZB width="147" height="144"]] || scouts ||
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1931/1931.6.1_4a.jpg?itok=yBbWri8J width="151" height="157"]] || Daniel Boone || [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1931/1931.6.1_5a.jpg?itok=4Gn7YMsV width="147" height="147"]] || William Clark ||
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1931/1931.6.1_6a.jpg?itok=1v8iRjVg width="171" height="47"]] || eagle || [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1931/1931.6.1_7a.jpg?itok=jK-azJzN width="145" height="120"]] || Native American ||
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1931/1931.6.1_8a.jpg?itok=PBsgpabo width="154" height="149"]] || mother in wagon || [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1931/1931.6.1_9a.jpg?itok=JiBxhcfC width="147" height="133"]] || death scene

Biography of Leutze Richard Murray video also available on youtube. Lure of the West (Treasures Book) Final mural at the U. S. Capitol William Clark SAAM Collections Page
 * Links: **