
The interpretation I pulled from the artwork “American Progress” by John Gast is that there was much uncertainty in the west but there was a sense of duty sent from God that the people of the East needed to expand and explore westward. Gast conveys this message through an array of symbols, a variation of dull and bright colors, and an abstract image that makes the painting what it is. Gast painted this piece in 1872, so perspectives change throughout a century. The reconstruction era and westward expansion can help us understand this piece better, but Gast does such a good job to make it clear what Americans truly thought about the west. 

One of the first things that caught my eye, besides the giant woman in the middle, is the sky. The sky shows half -bright and half-dark and stormy. The right side of the painting is the Eastern part of the United State. This is the side with color and sunlight, which shows that everything there is good and clear. The left side of the piece is Western part of the United States. This side is dark and stormy; there are snowcapped mountains that could represent a cold uncertain start. The colors on the left side are dark and dull except for the land the Native Americans are standing on. Native Americans had already settles some in the west so the land that they are standing on shows us that they know what they are getting in to. The dark clouds on the left make it seem like that side is bad while the right side has light color clouds and it almost looks like the clouds are clearing out. There are also symbols in the different types of transportation used to get to the west. There’s a man on a horse, people in a carriage, and people in a stagecoach, which shows technological differences between east and west and also symbolizes old and new. The giant woman in the middle of the piece symbolizes an angelic or holy figure. She’s carrying telegraph wire to show that she is leading the westward expansion and the technological advances in the west. The expansions of railroads are also shown by Gast to show the expansion that the people wanted. 

There are only few colors shown throughout the piece and I think there’s a reason for that. The discolored portion of the painting is on the westward side while the colored side is the eastern side. This shows uncertainty in the west while there’s certainty east because of color and brightness. The Mississippi is shown in the far right side of the piece and there’s faint blue in it with a sun setting sky. The stagecoach is red which I think portrays wealth; the carriage is blue and I cannot figure out what blue is trying to represent. There are farmers in the closest view walking westward through some of the only green on the painting. It seems like they might be staying where they are since it is green and there is one farmer with a plow, but the fact that they are walking in the direction of the west makes me think otherwise. One of them is wearing red, which has little to no meaning except for the fact that it’s one of the only places we see the color red. The color white is shown in an ox and most importantly the woman. White is a color of purity and righteousness. She is the one leading the movement west, which Gast portrays as a good thing since he shows the leader as an angelic figure. Her skin tone is lush and pure with no flaws. She is the only woman with her breast covered in the picture and the Native American women that are exposed are looking back at the giant in anger. Color plays an important role in showing the certainty in the east and uncertainty in the west which is Gast’ main point in this painting. 

Abstract images also play a big role in the piece. A giant woman is the center point, which is just an impossible setting. Even though almost everything in the picture is real, the entirety of the piece is abstract. There would be no way possible for all these people to be together in a big field running away west together. There are buffalo, bear, dogs, and deer all running away right beside people. Native Americans wouldn’t be hanging around places where white people are dominant. There is one mountain range in the piece and half is snow capped and dark while the other half is sunny and bright. I think that the abstractness of the painting can portray uncertainty in the west since something abstract is something that’s not real. So positive westward expansion couldn’t be real. 

Gast conveys a message of uncertainty in westward expansion through an array of symbols, a variation of dull and bright colors, and an abstract image that makes the painting what it is. People in 1872 could have portrayed this painting differently than I did, but I feel like with the knowledge we have learned in our last unit I have pulled out the things Gast is wanting to be seen by the viewer. 
