Frontier Art Timeline

Monroe Doctrine

Dec 30, 1823

President Monroe defines America's claim to territories beyond our borders.

George Catlin Sketches Indian Tribes

Period: Mar 31, 1832 to Mar 31, 1837

From 1832 to 1837 he spent the summer months sketching the tribes and then finished his pictures in oils during the winter.
Find more here.

Essay on American Scenery

Jan 19, 1836

Essay HereThomas Cole published his "Essay on American Scenery" in American Monthly Magazine.

Buffalo Dance

Mar 17, 1844

George Catlin created Buffalo Dance.

The Backwoods of America

Mar 17, 1858

Jasper Francis Cropsey painted The Backwoods of America in 1858.

Valley of the Catawissa in Autumn

Mar 17, 1862

Thomas Moran painted Valley of the Catawissa in Autumn in 1862.

Great Surveys

Period: Mar 17, 1867 to Mar 17, 1879

From 1867-1879, the Federal government supported four Great Surveys which Moran participated in, sketching several impressive landscapes along the way. Read more here.

Frontier Closed

Mar 17, 1890

By 1890, historian Frederick Jackson Turner declared that the western frontier had disappeared.