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A Disputed Passage [in the Days of '46]
Jules Tavernier American, born France
Not on view
Many of Tavernier’s paintings directly address intercultural encounters, often violent, between Indigenous peoples and White settlers. In this case, the artist chose to celebrate the US centennial of 1876 with a scene from the earlier Gold Rush era, which had disrupted, in devastating ways, the lives of Native Californians. The painting’s narrow vertical format and setting sun enhance the drama of the episode as a wagon train makes its way through a narrow gorge in the mountains toward armed Indigenous men concealed in the foreground.
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