Speculator,+The

Date: 1852
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1976/1976.114_1a.jpg?itok=eWaMS4qJ width="332" height="290" link="@https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/speculator-7898"]] || Title: **The Speculator**

Artist: **Francis William Edmonds** Born: Hudson, New York 1806 Died: Bronxville, New York 1863

Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: 25 1/8 x 30 1/8 in. (63.7 x 76.4 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of Ruth C. and Kevin McCann in affectionate memory of Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States

Accession: 1976.114 || A rural couple listens skeptically to a representative of the Building Association, identified by the paper in his coat pocket. The salesman—whose top hat, pointed shoes, and umbrella mark him as a city slicker—promises the couple a better life as he unrolls a listing of "1000 Valuable Lots on Rail Road Ave." Francis William Edmonds's comic genre scenes captured the rough-and-tumble of America's frontiers. Democracy meant opportunity for all, and there were plenty of opportunities to fleece the unwary in settlements governed by few laws. Land speculators flourished as the railroads raced West and small towns dreamed of growing into great cities.
 * Exhibition Label: **

The first US railroad was built in Maryland in 1830. The Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869. President Millard Fillmore signed the first Railroad land Grant Act in 1850. By encouraging railroad construction in undeveloped territories, particularly in the South and West, the government hoped to attract settlers, increase taxable wealth, and unify and strengthen the growing nation.


 * Suggested Questions: **
 * Look closely at the house and belongings. What do you think the couple's life is like now? Why might they want to move West?
 * How would you describe the speculator? Would you trust him?
 * Do you think the couple will decide to move West? How do they look-- convinced or skeptical?

An Autobiographical Essay by Francis Edmonds Francis William Edmonds- Mammon and Art Francis Edmonds and the Speculative Economy of Painting
 * Resources: **

Artist Biography SAAM Collections Page
 * Links: **