American Progress
John Gast · 1872
Why it's great
A giant woman floating in the sky, with a book and a telegraph wire, leads settlers westward as buffalo and Native people flee into the darkness. John Gast painted this in 1872 as an advertisement for the idea of American expansion, called Manifest Destiny. Today people study it to understand both the pride and the pain of this period. It's one of the most famous pictures about the American West.
🏛️ Part of history
The Industrial Revolution (1760–1900) — A glowing spirit of Progress carries a telegraph wire across the West, with trains and settlers following.
Westward Expansion & the Frontier (1803–1890) — In Gast's famous picture, a gigantic glowing figure floats over the West carrying schoolbooks and a telegraph wire, with railroads and wagons following.
Where to see it
📍 Autry Museum of the American WestLos Angeles, United States
Open in Maps ↗Hang it on your wall
Three places to look for a print of this painting, from budget to museum-grade:
These links open search results on each shop's own website; we don't sell anything or earn a commission, and print quality varies by seller. Ask a grown-up before you buy anything.
John Gast was a painter and lithographer born in Berlin, Germany, who worked in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for his 1872 painting 'American Progress', which became a symbol of westward expansion. He died in Brooklyn in 1896.
