In this artwork, how is the Description discussed?
American Progress has become a seminal example of American Western art. The painting serves as an allegory for Manifest Destiny and American westward expansion. The 11.50 by 15.75 inches (29.2 cm × 40.0 cm) painting was commissioned in 1872 by George Crofutt, a publisher of American Western travel guides, and has since been frequently reproduced. The woman in the center is Columbia, the personification of the United States, and on her head is what Crofutt calls "The Star of the Empire". Columbia moves from the light-skied east to the dark and treacherous West, leading settlers who follow her either on foot or by stagecoach, horseback, Conestoga wagon, wagon train, or riding steam trains. She lays a telegraph wire with one hand and carries a school book in the other. On the right side of the painting, in the East, New York City can be seen in the background, while farmers who have already settled in the Midwest are featured in the foreground. As Columbia moves westward, indigenous people and a herd of buffalo flee from her and the settlers who follow.
stagecoach New York City Columbia 1872 buffalo Manifest Destiny expansion wagon train telegraph Conestoga wagon westward expansion steam train