Existing comment:
Going Places:
As the nineteenth century progressed, American artists sought new places to experience and depict, gradually becoming more interconnected with each other and with the world beyond. Dramatic changes in communication, transportation, and other types of technology, in addition to a belief in Manifest Destiny -- the notion that Americans were divinely chosen to expand across the continent -- enabled rapid expansion westward.
Louis Daguerre's 1839 introduction of the daguerreotype in Paris led to the proliferation of photography in art, science, and commerce. Later that year, Samuel F.B. Morse met Daguerre and soon afterward opened a daguerreotype studio in America. In 1847, he received his patent for the telegraph, which instantly transmitted messages over great distance. In 1841 the American portrait painted John Goffe Rand invented the squeezable metal paint tube, which eventually replaced pig bladders and glass syringes giving painters far greater freedom to travel and easily record their impressions. They were soon able to eschew overland travel for journeys on the transcontinental railroad, which opened in the 1860s. Improved steamship technology allowed artists to travel overseas to study and visit acclaimed art collections and exhibitions. Together, these changes facilitated the exploration of national identity and place, as well as the experience of locales beyond America's borders. |