Seth Eastman

This work is part of a series of drawings ordered by Providence-born bibliophile and Chief Commissioner of the United States John Russell Bartlett to illustrate his recent attempts to establish an official border with Mexico. Eastman painted the works after Bartlett's travel sketches, not on site. Note the two surveyors with equipment in the lower right, a reference to Bartlett's project. Eastman's topographical knowledge provided the perfect adjunct to Bartlett's on-site realism. Through his skillful handling of watercolor, he captured the unique coloration of the landscape -- pinks, creams, ochres, warm browns, lavenders -- and the landscape's clear, dry light and spaciousness.