Choose one of the following landscape painters who practiced or began their career in the antebellum American art world:
-Thomas Cole
-Asher Durand
-Jasper Cropsey
-Robert S. Duncanson
-John Kensett
-Frederic Church
Drawing upon Cole’s influential “American Scenery” essay, other information presented this week, and your own research from related academic sources on these artists (academic books and articles, museum websites, historical society websites etc.) describe how several of their artworks fit into the project of defining an “American art” vis-a-vis the European tradition. At the same time, how did their painting relate to the debates about American expansion, mass politics (including poor landless squatters [‘”crackers”] and the inclusion of black men as voters), and the proper use of wild lands in the US?
This should be 2-3 pages, doubled-spaced.