Historic Timeline
View paintings in the Museum’s collection alongside major historical, political, and cultural events, beginning with the American Revolution and leading up to the founding of the AMWA.
1776
Congress formally endorsed the Declaration of IndependenceRead more
1789
George Washington was sworn in as first President of the United StatesRead more
1790-1830
Start of the Industrial RevolutionRead more
1803
President Jefferson purchased Louisiana TerritoryRead more
1805
The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the Pacific OceanRead more
1810-1840
Fur trade reaches its peakRead more
1812
Congress declared war on Great BritainRead more
1819-1820
Expeditionary artists travel to the Rocky MountainsRead more
1821
The Mexican Revolution opens trade between the US and MexicoRead more
1823-1841
James Fennimore Cooper published The Leatherstocking TalesRead more
1830
Congress passed the Indian Removal ActRead more
1832
George Catlin traveled west by steamshipRead more
1835-1848
Texas declared Independence from MexicoRead more
1836
First wagon train along the Oregon TrailRead more
1844
Samuel Morse sent the first long-distance telegraph messageRead more
1845
The term Manifest Destiny is coinedRead more
1848
The California Gold Rush beginsRead more
1849-1869
The Pacific Railroad Company builds westRead more
1850s
The US government built wagon roadsRead more
c. 1850
William Tylee Ranney travels westRead more
1851
The Laramie Treaty was signedRead more
1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s CabinRead more
1858
Colorado Gold Rush beginsRead more
1860
Pony Express Mail ServiceRead more
1861-1865
American Civil WarRead more
1862
The Homestead ActRead more
1864
The Sand Creek MassacreRead more
1865
Abraham Lincoln shot at Ford’s TheaterRead more
1865-1876
The Sioux WarsRead more
1866-1890
The Open Range Cattle Industry and the Era of the CowboyRead more
1866
William Jacob Hays painted The Gathering of the HerdsRead more
1867
US purchases AlaskaRead more
1870
15th Amendment granted right to vote to African American menRead more
1871
First National Park establishedRead more
1872
Innovations in photography impact paintingRead more
1876-1877
Bell’s First TelephoneRead more
1879
The relocation of the Southern UtesRead more
1880
The Navarre Building Constructed in DenverRead more
1881
Remington begins illustrating the WestRead more
1889
Oklahoma Land RushRead more
1890
Massacre at Wounded KneeRead more
1893
Western markets crashedRead more
1898
The Spanish American WarRead more
1898
Blumenschein and Phillips travel to Taos, New MexicoRead more
1903
First narrative filmRead more
1913
The Armory ShowRead more
1913
Henry Ford established the assembly lineRead more
1915
The Taos Society of Artists was foundedRead more
1915
N.C. Wyeth painted The Lady WinsRead more
1917-1918
The United States participated in World War IRead more
1920
19th Amendment granted right to vote to womenRead more
1924
Indian Citizen Act signed into lawRead more
1926
US Highway SystemRead more
1929
Black TuesdayRead more
1933 - 1935
Federal Art ProjectsRead more
1935
Georgia O’Keeffe painted Red Hills, Grey SkyRead more
1941-1945
World War IIRead more
1944
G.I. Bill signedRead more
1952
Emil Bisttram created The MirrorRead more
1967
Ralph Brownell McGrew painted Going on a VisitRead more
1969
Thomas Hart Benton painted Wheat Threshing on the High PlainsRead more
1976
Helen Frankenthaler visits the WestRead more
1979
Fritz Scholder painted An American PortraitRead more
1981
Harold Joe Waldrum painted Church at Arroyo HondoRead more
1991
New Appreciation for Western American ArtRead more
1997
Kim Wiggins painted Merging of CulturesRead more
2009
Ed Mell painted Flashing StormRead more
2010
AMWA foundedRead more
