Canoes 1888

Albert Bierstadt made this oil on paper artwork, titled Canoes. Although the exact date is unknown, we can say it was probably created during the second half of the nineteenth century. Bierstadt was associated with the Hudson River School, a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters. The name “Hudson River School” can be somewhat misleading: the artists painted the American landscape more broadly, including the Yosemite Valley and the Rocky Mountains. However, all these artists shared an interest in the themes of exploration and settlement, with many of their works serving as subtle endorsements of Manifest Destiny – the idea that American settlers were destined to expand across the continent. Bierstadt’s work gives us an opportunity to think about the role of the artist in shaping public perceptions of the land. To understand it more fully, we can turn to sources such as travel narratives, newspapers, and political speeches. These resources help us to better understand the complex and contested meanings of the land in this period of American history.