Miss Columbia John Gast Analysis

John Gast, a Brooklyn based painter and lithographer, painted this picture in 1872 on commission for George Crofutt, the publisher of a popular series of western travel guides. Few Americans saw the actual painting, but many encountered it in reproduction. The painting is so rich in detail that many usually imagine it to be a large canvas. But in fact it is tiny, just 12 3/4 x 16 3/4 inches in size. This painting can be analyzed in a few different ways; Ionographic, Feminist, and Contextual points of view. In this painting there are lots of signs and symbols for different objects throughout the painting. First and most obvious is the lady flying across the middle of the painting, “Miss Columbia” as she symbolizes the USA, a large, luminous, ethereal, feminine figure of “American Progress” with the “star of the empire” on her forehead and long, light, wavy hair leads miners, settlers, and travelers from East to West. The symbols throughout the
She represents feminism in different aspects. In the painting she is carrying a school book and telephone wire signifying she is bringing along technology and knowledge. She represents bringing goodness to the west with the expansion.The feminine figure and focus of Gast’s painting recalls the classical folds of another famous feminine figure’s garments and her message of liberty. Two years before the completion of Gast’s “American Progress,” the first small model of the benevolent grace of Liberty Island’s welcoming Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was created. A widely recognized symbol, the lady of the New York Harbor indicated a successful journey for immigrants and visitors the world over. With her progression, the darkness fades as she ushers in new light. Men of various trades accompany her on foot and by various methods of transportation: horseback, covered wagon, carriage, steam engine, and