Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way

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Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (mural study for the United States Capitol building), 1861, oil on canvas, 84.5 x 110.1 cm (Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Sara Carr Upton, 1931.6.1)

Additional resources:

America’s Manifest Destiny – American Experience in the Classroom (The Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Teaching poster on Leutze’s Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (The Smithsonian American Art Museum)

TEDEd lesson: Reading a History Painting (The Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Detail of cartoon for Leutze’s Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (The Smithsonian American Art Museum)

See Leutze’s mural at the U.S. Capitol

U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on Leutze’s mural

Digital Public Library of America on Leutze’s mural

Cite this page as: Carol Wilson and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way," in Smarthistory, September 16, 2019, accessed June 8, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/leutze-manifest-destiny/.