INTRODUCTION
By Marian Albright Schenk
FOREWORD
By Dean Knudsen
SECTION 1
Primary Themes of Jackson's Art
SECTION 2
Paintings of the Oregon Trail
SECTION 3
Historic Scenes From the West
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| William Henry Jackson's contribution to the advance of transportation technology was his "dark room on wheels." Developed during the time he was based in Omaha, Jackson used this rig while photographing local Indian tribes. (SCBL 2787) |
Section 3: Historic Scenes from the West
WESTWARD AMERICA
In his painting, Westward America, William Henry Jackson tells the story of the advances made in transportation in the United States. Moving from left to right, the viewer is shown how the earliest Americans had to get around on foot. In time, the horse is acquired, allowing both more rapid mobility and the hauling of heavier loads. Progress continues through the use of pack horses, ox-drawn wagons, stage coaches, railroads, and ending in automobiles. At the far right, there is even an airplane, showing that commercial aviation can improve our mobility even more.
Intended as a visual story of the evolution of transportation, the painting can just as well be seen as a commentary on some of the changes that had occurred in America during the artist's lifetime. At the time of his birth in 1843, the most common method of getting around was still on foot. The fastest a person could travel was on horseback. During his ninety-nine years, Jackson personally witnessed and chronicled the technological advances that transformed the United States from a rural, agrarian society to a fast-paced industrial nation.
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| During the last decade of his life commercial aviation was becoming quite common. Journeys that had required months could now be completed in hours. Here Jackson is disembarking from an American Airlines dc-3 in March 1939. (SCBL 815) |
A product of his times, Jackson saw these changes in a generally positive light. His reaction to his seeing his first automobile is revealing, "What a fine way to get around with a camera!"1 To him, human inventiveness was simply making life better. Obstacles of nature were there to be overcome. He shared America's faith that science, technology and determination could solve any problem. Although occasionally nostalgic for the "good old days," little if any thought was given to the consequences of introducing technological change into America's Far West.
Depending on your point of view, a case can be made that the American frontier either benefited or suffered from this technical revolution. On the one hand, the previously insurmountable distances of the West could be more easily traversed when railroads were built. The existence of railroads made it economically feasible to transport goods produced in America's heartland. This, in turn, led to the homesteading and settling of the plains in the late Nineteenth century.
However, these advances have come at a price. Unaware of the fragility of the Plains' ecosystem, marginal farm lands were tilled. Occasional droughts resulted in the "boom and bust" economics that have typified the settlement of the high Plains. Ecologically, early farming practices caused extensive erosion, of which the Dust Bowl of the 1930s is the most extreme example. Today, while we try to be more mindful of the environment, the arguments of development versus conservation continue.
1. Jackson, Time Exposure, 327.
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| Westward America. Signed and dated 1931. 24.1 x 140.0 cm. (SCBL 37) |
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scbl/knudsen/sec3e.htm Last Updated: 14-Apr-2006 |
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