House in the Adirondacks 1851

"House in the Adirondacks" by David Johnson, invites us to consider how the concept of wilderness has been shaped by cultural and historical forces. Johnson, a key figure in the American landscape painting tradition, situates this humble dwelling within the vast, romanticized landscape of the Adirondack Mountains. At first glance, the painting seems a celebration of nature’s grandeur and the simple life. But let's pause and think about this cabin within the landscape: Whose house is this? What are the narratives of settlement, displacement, and labor that underpin this seemingly untouched wilderness? During the 19th century, the Adirondacks were increasingly becoming a site for tourism and resource extraction, impacting the lives and lands of indigenous communities. Johnson's work doesn't explicitly address these complex histories, but by looking at the painting, we can think about these histories that are implicit in the landscape itself. What stories do you think it might tell?