Thomas Moran's Yellowstone

How is Thomas Moran's painting of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone "a uniquely American combination of art, commerce, and government fiat?

Student worksheet available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C_C9z3Tu7lZ6oTrpd81L4lh4rFMlS04JthjaVt4bHzE/edit?usp=sharing

Transcript

1. Thomas Moran’s Yellowstone
5. 6 TRILLION MILES HIGH
6. CONTACT
8. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
9. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
10. STAR TREK (1960s)
11. STAR TREK (2000s)
25. THE PILLARS OF CREATION
27. Thomas Moran’s Yellowstone
28. Thomas Moran
30. Thomas Moran & F.V. Hayden
32. Jay Cooke
35. William Henry Jackson
37. Thomas Moran & W.H. Jackson
39. W.H. Jackson’s Yellowstone
41. Thomas Moran’s Yellowstone
43. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 1872
47. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 1893-1901
48. Anne Twadell’s Yellowstone
51. COMPARE / CONTRAST
54. WHY?
55. “Every form introduced into the picture is within view from a given point, but the relations of the separate parts to one another are not always preserved…. My aim was to bring before the public the character of that region.” (emphasis added)
56. “I place no value upon literal transcripts from Nature. My general scope is not realistic; all my tendencies are toward idealization….The motive…was the gorgeous display of color that impressed itself upon me. Probably no scenery in the world presents such a combination.”
63. Abelardo Morell
64. Abelardo Morell’s Old Faithful
65. Abelardo Morell’s Yellowstone
66. ANALYZE
75. “January 30, 1872: the U.S. Senate passes S. 392 in support of making Yellowstone the country’s first national park. ‘The Congressional Globe’ (shown here) records the debate prior to the vote. On to the House!”
76. “March 1, 1872: President Grant signs the Act Establishing Yellowstone Park into law because of…Hayden’s report, Jackson’s photographs, and Moran’s drawings (not the painting—unfinished).”
77. $10,000: June, 1872
78. “A uniquely American combination of art, commerce, and government fiat.” — EXPLAIN Yellowstone:
79. 8:50