'Progress' by Asher Brown Durand

This painting by Durand, a historically acclaimed American landscape painter and the engraver of 'The Declaration of Independence' in 1823, is very aptly named 'Progress' or 'The Advance of Civilisation'. Durand was a founder of The Hudson River School and many of his paintings became iconic for their unique connection between nature and man; as such, various meanings can be inferred from his work, and even the titles he gave his paintings. This particular painting from 1853 depicts the vanishing wilderness of the Native Americans, and the growing economic development brought by the Europeans, in what has become known as 'the landscape of investment'.

Durand helped define American sensibility about the land, in an effort to set it apart from old traditions in their European homelands. Within this painting there is a marked connection between the forest and the natives; their placement is in a small portion on the left hand side of the picture, in significant darkness, lurking and watching the interactions of the Europeans with interest. This, along with the conspicuous title of the painting, could be observed as the bias Americans held towards the natives and their way of life; seeing them as savage and resistant to change they believed would benefit society. By placing the natives in such a small part of the whole, Durand could be accused of brushing them aside; rendering them as inconsequential, in the same way by which they were martialled off their own land for the sake of development.

The most elaborate part of this painting is the dazzling city which appears on the distant horizon, bathed in sunlight and hovering below an expansive sky. The differences in lighting between the wilderness and everything European related is reminiscent of the painting, 'American Progress' by John Gast; envisioning the good and progressive path as that of the enlightened, or as being sanctioned by God.

Many saw this as a bold move from Durand in the obvious endorsement he gives to the manifest destiny belief, that the states should be expanded towards the Pacific. Normally accredited for his realistic approach to landscapes and nature, preferring to portray the truth rather than seeing it as an expression of God's glorification, Durand has entirely imagined his topography. Not only with the glittering City, but the Catskills and Hudson River are pictured as being abundant with villages, farms, steamboats and a railroad. The foreground with the Native Americans shows a rubble road leading out of the picture, as though expecting their disappearance at any moment - this echoes the idea of Americans desiring the eradication of the Natives.

This painting could definitely be regarded as a celebration of change and indeed by naming it 'Progress' Durand is showing a certainty in the advancement of Europeans across American soil. The ideas within this painting are especially potent given Durand's high standing within the community that existed, and his honest nature.