You may not have heard of Alexander von
Humboldt, but while he was alive, he was
one of the best known public figures
anywhere in the world. Humboldt is the kind
of charismatic person who leaves an
impact everywhere he goes. In 1804
Alexander von Humboldt made a six-week
visit to the United States. For the next
50 years he has a sustained impact on
five spheres of America's cultural
development. Its art, literature, politics,
science and exploration.  The 300 year
history of landscape painting, in essence,
owes part of its traction to Alexander
von Humboldt visit, and to his ideas. He
directly inspired American artists from
Charles Willson Peale to Frederick Church
to George Catlin to Karl Bodmer to
Samuel F. B. Morse.
It isn't just landscape painting, it's
actually all of American art when it
comes to understanding the power of
visual images to shape our ideas.
 
