Piute Indian Encampment, Yosemite 

Thomas Hill, probably in the late 19th century, created this landscape using oil paint on canvas. These were fairly conventional materials for painting at the time, produced industrially and sold widely. The material itself – oil paint – lends the scene its characteristic hazy quality. You can almost feel the sunlight diffusing across the valley. Hill applied the paint in layers, building up the image gradually. The canvas support also plays a role, its texture subtly influencing the final surface. The scale is also relevant; a painting like this was made for display, intended to impress viewers with the sublimity of the American West. But it is the subject matter that is really critical here. This vista, already a popular tourist destination in Hill's time, is also depicted as a site of indigenous presence, and indeed their displacement. The Piute people are literally in the landscape, but also being pushed out of it, as their ancestral lands were commodified and consumed by others. Materials, making, and context – all crucial to understanding the full story.