The Attack on an Emigrant Train / Charles Ferdinand Wimar

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Record Details

Accession Number
1895.80
Title
The Attack on an Emigrant Train
Artist Nationality
American
Artist Life Dates
1828-1862
Medium and Support
oil on canvas
Object Creation Date
1856
Object Creation Place
North and Central America (continent)
United States (nation)
Creation Place 2
United States (nation)
Inscription
Inscribed l.r.: Charles Wimar Düss 1856
Dimensions
139.9 cm x 200.8 cm (55 1/16 in. x 79 1/16 in.)
Century
19th century
Primary Object Classification
Painting
Primary Object Type
genre
Physical Description
The painting depicts a group of American settlers attempting to defend themselves against attack by a band of Native Americans. A covered wagon pulled by two horses is at the center of the composition; at left, two Native Americans attack the wagon with war clubs and tomahawks; a figure on the lead horse points a pistol directly at the head of one of his attackers, while a figure at the rear of the wagon shoots another attacker. At right other warriors on horseback ride past the train shooting arrows and wielding tomahawks.
Subject Matter
“The Attack on an Emigrant Train” was inspired by the writing of Gabriel Ferry, a contemporary French chronicler of the Gold Rush, and depicts a caravan of American pioneer gold-diggers crossing a prairie, defending themselves against attack by a band of Native Americans. Wimar portrays the Native American as a foe who symbolized hostility and was an obstruction in the path of American progress and territorial expansion.
Secondary Keywords
american regions
americas
animals
animals and creatures
armed conflicts
associated concepts
atmospheric effects
buildings and the land
cargo vehicles
cargo vehicles by form
cutting equipment
cutting tools
earth sciences concepts
edged weapons
equipment
equipment by process
events
fights
firearms
freewheeled vehicles
freewheeled vehicles by form or function
grassland
how we live
land vehicles
land vehicles by form
landscapes (environments)
locality
long guns
mammals
natural landscapes
north & central america
north american
objects
objects we use
passenger vehicles
people
people (agents)
people and culture
people by activity
physical activities
physical activities by general context
physical sciences concepts
plant communities
projectile launchers with nonexplosive propellant
projectile weapons
projectile weapons with explosive propellant
projectile weapons with nonexplosive propellant
projectiles with nonexplosive propellant
scientific concepts
settlements and landscapes
small arms by form
styles and periods
styles and periods by region
the americas
the natural world
tools and equipment
transportation vehicles
vegetation and vegetation components
vegetation components
vehicles
war
weaponry
weapons
weapons and ammunition
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
1403 x 967
File Size
181 KB
Record
1895.80
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1895.80/1895.80.jpg

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Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1895.80:1895.80.JPG

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Full citation
"The Attack on an Emigrant Train; Charles Ferdinand Wimar." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1895.80/1895.80.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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