Artist
Born in Berlin, Germany
A Life of Lithography and Art
Born in Berlin, Germany, John Gast was a Prussian-born American painter and lithographer. He was the son of Heinrich Konrad "Leopold" Gast and Bertha Pauline Henriette Volkmann. His family emigrated from Berlin to central Missouri before moving to St. Louis. His father, Leopold, was a master lithographer who established the August Gast Banknote and Lithograph Company with his brother August. John followed in his father's footsteps, earning a degree from the Royal Academy in Berlin before returning to St. Louis. He later traveled to Paris to study art around 1867.
After working in New York, Gast established his own firm, Gast and Company. He is recognized as the inventor of the three-color lithograph process and received patents for various lithograph processes and equipment, including a special lithograph screen for color printing. His business ventures eventually evolved into the Photo-chrome Company and later Grey and Company.
Artistic Legacy and Works
Gast's most famous work is the painting American Progress (1872), which was commissioned by publisher George Crofutt. This piece is held in the Autry Museum of the American West. His other known works include:
His artistic output also includes an untitled work depicting a mother adjusting a blanket. Gast's works are generally signed and dated. He died in Brooklyn from liver cancer.
Museum
On show in Los Angeles County, United States
Origins and History of the Museum
Located in Los Angeles County, California, the Autry Museum of the American West was founded in 1988 by Gene Autry. At its inception, the institution was established as the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum. The museum was created to explore an inclusive history of the American West, focusing on the diverse experiences and cultures that shaped the region.
The museum operates across two sites located approximately 8 miles apart. The Griffith Park site is situated directly across from the Los Angeles Zoo. This institution attracts approximately 150,000 visitors annually. Through its various galleries and research facilities, the museum maintains a significant presence in the study of Western history.
Major Collections and Research Facilities
The museum holds 21,000 objects, including paintings, sculptures, textiles, and musical instruments. This collection encompasses firearms, tools, toys, and costumes. A significant portion of these holdings includes 238,000 pieces from the Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection. This specific assemblage contains 14,000 baskets, 10,000 ceramic items, 6,300 textiles and weavings, and more than 1,100 pieces of jewelry.
Research is supported by the Braun Research Library, which contains approximately 50,000 books and serials. The library's archival holdings include more than 147,000 historic photographs and 3,000 works of art on paper. These resources provide the primary material for studying the history and material culture of the American West.
The Parks Gallery of Art
The Irene Helen Jones Parks Gallery of Art occupies 4,000 square feet within the museum. Following an extensive redesign and renovation in 2013, the space was reorganized to present material through thematic lenses rather than a strictly chronological sequence. This approach allows for a direct dialogue between paintings, photography, and other material culture objects.
The gallery is structured around three specific themes: Religion and Ritual, Land and Landscape, and Migration and Movement. These frameworks guide the presentation of the collection, placing visual works in relation to the historical and social realities of the American West. By grouping objects by subject matter, the gallery emphasizes the connections between the physical environment and the people who inhabited it.
The collection within these walls includes works such as:
American Progress, 1872 - John Gast
Mountain of the Holy Cross, about 1875 - Thomas Moran
Battle of Little Bighorn, about 1890 - White Swan
The Gamble Firearms Gallery
The Gamble Firearms Gallery provides an examination of the context and place of firearms within the Old West. Following a renovation in 2013, the space functions as an integral component of the Western Frontiers: Stories of Fact and Fiction Gallery. Rather than a simple chronological display, the collection is organized to reflect the practical realities of frontier life.
Curators have grouped the firearms by specific themes to illustrate their historical utility. These groupings include hunting and trapping, the impact of technology on firearms, the conservation movement, and the role of weaponry in popular Western culture. This thematic approach allows for a direct study of how these tools were utilized in different environments and social contexts.
Masterpieces of the Collection
The collection includes John Gast’s 1872 painting, American Progress. This work functions as an allegory of manifest destiny, depicting Columbia as a female personification of the United States. She moves from the settled east toward the sparsely populated west, carrying a school book and laying a telegraph wire. The composition tracks the movement of civilization through various modes of travel, including Conestoga wagons and steam trains.
Other significant works include Mountain of the Holy Cross by Thomas Moran and Battle of Little Bighorn by White Swan. These pieces contribute to the museum's study of the American West through different perspectives of the landscape and its history.
Exhibitions and Public Programs
The museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs. These offerings include lectures, film, theater, festivals, family events, and music. Such programming is designed to engage the community with the diverse history of the American West.
A significant component of the museum's theatrical presence is Native Voices at the Autry. This equity theater focuses on playwrights from Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nation backgrounds. To date, Native Voices has produced over 34 full productions and has taken more than 20 tours to various locations.
