6. Exploration by Water 1909

Francis Davis Millet’s painting, "Exploration by Water," depicts an Indigenous man paddling a canoe, with a European man as passenger. Painted in the United States, most likely in the late 19th or early 20th century, the image evokes an earlier period of colonial expansion. The artist may well have intended it to celebrate this history. But what does it mean to portray this encounter from a later moment in time, after centuries of exploitation, forced assimilation, and even genocide, of America’s indigenous population? The painting becomes a testament to the politics of imagery; what it means to represent such a scene given this historical backdrop. To truly understand this artwork, one must consider the institutions, power structures, and cultural forces that shaped its creation. It demands research into the treatment of indigenous peoples, and the cultural narratives used to justify it. Art history at its best reveals that images are never neutral; they are shaped by social conditions and can challenge or reinforce existing norms.