Title Plate and Cover for New England Scenery from Nature, published by M. J. Whipple, Boston, 1852 c. 19th century

Curator: This title plate, "New England Scenery from Nature," published in 1852, is interesting. What strikes you about it? Editor: It feels very... official. Almost like a legal document. I’m curious why landscapes were considered so important back then that they were documented in this manner. Curator: Exactly. This was a period of intense nationalism and westward expansion. How do you think idealized images of the landscape played a role in shaping national identity and justifying that expansion, particularly regarding Indigenous populations? Editor: So, by presenting this ‘untouched’ scenery, it erases the history and presence of Native Americans? Curator: Precisely. It's a powerful, subtle act of cultural and political assertion through art. It makes you think about whose land we're really looking at, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. I'll never see landscapes quite the same way again.