Custer's Last Stand

The California Gold Rush in 1848, started a very large production of gold mining. The land the gold was found on started to create problems with the Native Americans because ownership to land. Even if the land was given back to the Native Americans and there was gold found on the land, you can bet that people would be there to mine it even if they didn’t own land. That is how the battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana of 1876 started, then was later made into painting called “Custer’s last stand.” Custer's last stand was painted in 1943 by Thomas Hart Benton, is now in the Albrecht-Kemper museum in St. Joseph Missouri. It is a large painting that is at eye level to the viewers in the museum. The oil painting really describes what is happening in the battle and who won the battle without even looking at the description next to the paining. In this painting it shows the chief of the Native Americans at the very top and the lighting is very focused on him and Custer. The story behind the Battle of Little Bighorn is that General Custer was going in to take over the land that was given to the Native Americans because there was
Most of the lines are curved and create movement throughout the painting. The painting is also set up in a way that shows the strength lots of strength. All the men are shown at a profile view except for the Native American Chief. Also shows strength by making tiers of men on the hill The bottom tiers are people who are lying on the ground dead from the battle. The next tier is people who are about to get killed in battle, including Custer himself. Then at the top by himself, is the chief of the Native Americans posing very powerfully and about to stab Custer. All the men in the painting are the same size but it draws attention to Custer and the chief of the Native Americans because the men at the bottom are shaded darker and as you get to the top the men have lighter shades to