The Oregon Trail

Year: 1963

Style: Landscape Painting and Luminism

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Location: Butler Institute of American Art

Think About It

How does the artist romanticize the American West?
How did the artist alter details of the landscape to create awe and grandeur?
How are the immigrants depicted as noble figures?
Do you think the painting is mean to promote or discourage western migration?
How does the artist use lighting to evoke a specific mood?
What coloring does the artist use in the painting?
What details did the artist include? How does his attention to detail help tell a story?
How does the artist use Luminism (a style of American landscape painting that applies hazy lighting and transparent brushwork to inspire a sense of tranquility and majesty)?
The

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Died:

The painting is currently located in the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.
While luminism begins to appear in the 1850’s, the term “luminism” was not used until a hundred years later (1950’s) to describe the style (art historian John Baur coined the term).
The painting was inspired by a fifty-wagon train of German emigrants that crossed Bierstadt’s path during his 1863 expedition.