19th Century Paintings of the Texas Panhandle and the Southern Plains

     During the 19th century the frontier across North America had become accessible and restless Americans began traversing it's vast wilderness. After the Lewis and Clarks expedition, the Louisiana purchase and the acquisition of Texas, the US government began spending large amounts of it's annual budget to explore what it now owned. Surveys and exploration was an urgent obcession. Railroads were required for commerce and traveling great distances and restless settlers were finding cheap land and endless opportunities in the great west.

     Explorers like Zebulon Pike and Randolph Marcy explored the wilderness west of St. Louis and had artists, cartographers and scientists accompany them in their explorations. Some of these artists and scientists included George Catlin, Frederic Remington, Heinrich Mollhausen and the Baron von Humbolt.

     The results of their perceptions are some of the most significant creative works in American history to date.



Scroll with the arrow and click on the small images to rediscover the wilderness of the American West.