25 x 36 3/16 in. (63.5 x 91.9 cm)
Framed: 36 5/16 x 47 3/8 in. (92.2 x 120.3 cm)
Accession Number
2004.003.001
Credit Line
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
Object Details
In 1870, the House Committee on Military Affairs commissioned artist and retired Army General Seth Eastman to paint 17 views of important forts across the country, in commemoration of the Civil War's end. The resulting works are serene landscapes, which, per the instructions of the committee, include no battle scenes. Fort Snelling—where Eastman was posted as a young soldier in the 1840s—is depicted from a low perspective, under dramatic clouds, heightening the grandeur of the structure. In a nostalgic gesture, Eastman includes an encampment of the local Dakotas, who would have been present during the time the artist was stationed in the then-remote Minnesota frontier.
