IMPLEMENTATION
Art of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Historians have often wondered why Captain Lewis and President
Jefferson did not include an artist in the Corps of Discovery.
Given the main goal of the mission--to learn everything possible
about the flora, fauna, geography, and native peoples of the West--it
seems strange that such a position was omitted. Perhaps it was
discussed, but neither Lewis nor Jefferson ever mentioned the
matter in their letters or other documents. The captains occasionally
drew sketches in their journals, and Clark was especially adept
at drawing maps. However, neither was able to portray the people
and natural phenomena of the West with finesse.
Lewis lamented his lack of artistic skill in his journal on June
13, 1805-the day he first saw the Great Falls of the Missouri
River. After describing the great spectacle in his journal, he
added the following passage:
After writing this imperfect description, I again
viewed the Falls, and was so much disgusted with the imperfect
idea which it conveyed of the scene, that I determined to draw
my pen across it and begin again; but then reflected that I could
not perhaps succeed better than penning the first impressions
of the mind. I wished for the pencil of Salvator Rosa, a Titian,
[famous artists] or the pen of Thomson [writer], that I
might be enabled to give to the enlightened world some just idea
of this truly magnificent and sublimely grand object which has,
from the commencement of time, been concealed from the view of
civilized man. But this was fruitless and vain. I most sincerely
regretted that I had not brought a camera obscura with me, by
the assistance of which even I could have hoped to have done better,
but alas, this was also out of my reach.
The "camera obscura" (Latin for "black
box") referred to by Lewis in the above passage was a device
that projected an image upon a flat surface so that the user could
trace the image on paper. It was based on the principle that light
passing through a pinhole into a dark box produces an inverted
image of the view outside of the box. This principle had been
known and used in various ways since the time of the Greeks. (For
more information, click on TEACHING
AIDS "L" and scroll to Camera Obscura. For a
picture of a camera obscura like the one referred to by Lewis,
see We Proceeded On, August, 1988, p. 23.)
The camera obscura was the forerunner of modern cameras that create
a permanent image on film, metal, or other materials. It was not
until 1837 (three decades after the Lewis and Clark Expedition)
that a French painter invented a process for capturing a permanent
image on sensitized copper plates. The resulting image was called
a daguerretype in recognition of its inventor, Louis Daguerre.
(For more about daguerreotypes, click on http://www.daguerre.org/home.html.)
At the time of Lewis and Clark, however, the only way to really
capture the essence of a person, an object, or a scene was to
draw, paint, or sculpt it. Before we take a look at artists who
accompanied later expeditions, let's speculate a few minutes on
why you think an artist was not included on the Lewis and Clark
Expedition. (No one really knows why but let students speculate.)
Although no one knows the answer for sure, art historian John
C. Ewers sums up the omission of an artist as follows: "It
is easy for modern critics to deplore Jefferson's failure to send
an able artist with the Lewis and Clark expedition. But Jefferson
was too aware of the dangers of that long trek through an unknown
Indian country to send a trained scientist, a doctor, or an artist
with that hardy company of soldier-explorers." (Artists
of the Old West, p. 21.)
Art About the Lewis and Clark Expedition and
Subsequent Westward Expansion
If the omission of an artist on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
was a mistake, it was soon corrected. Western expeditions after
the Lewis and Clark Expedition frequently included talented artists
who provided glimpses of the West for curious easterners. The
first expedition artists were Titian Ramsay Peale and Samuel Seymour.
Both men trekked to Colorado with Major Stephen Long's exploring
party in 1819-20. Peale was the son of Philadelphia artist, Charles
Willson Peale, who painted portraits of Lewis and Clark after
their return.
A few years later (1832-34) a talented Swiss painter, Karl Bodmer,
accompanied Prince Maximilian of Germany on an expedition to the
American West. Bodmer produced hundreds of high quality paintings,
drawings and sketches including some of the best-known illustrations
ever made of American Indians. (For more information about
these artists, click on TEACHING
AIDS "L" and scroll to "Expedition Artists.")
The works of early expedition artists were predominately about
the West itself--Indian customs, flora and fauna, and landscapes.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, however, many artists
were beginning to depict America's westward expansion. This genre
included such themes as the fur trade, the Gold Rush, the Oregon
and Santa Fe Trails, the railroads, and of course, the Lewis and
Clark Expedition--the event that started it all.
CONCLUSION
Today, enthusiasm for western art in general and the Lewis and
Clark Expedition in particular is still alive and well. With the
Bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition many contemporary
artists are now generating new and exciting interpretations of
that event.
To find out more about westward expansion artists, past and present,
we are going to create a "Gallery of Western Art" in
the classroom. To begin this project, I will pass a paper bag
around the room with the names of painters and sculptors in it.
Please take one name from the bag. Your assignment is to research
the life and art of the person whose name you choose. Not all
of them portrayed the Lewis and Clark Expedition. However, if
the artist whose name you select used (or uses) Lewis and Clark
themes, concentrate on that part of their work for this project.
(Hand out ARTISTS
OF THE WEST worksheets and go over it with the class.)
Follow the instructions on this worksheet to gather and present
your information. At the conclusion of this project, we will create
a gallery of artists as suggested on the worksheet.
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
The following activities are designed to familiarize students
with some of the challenges faced by artists as they go about
their work:
