Gezicht op de Muirgletsjer before 1890

This photographic print of the Muir Glacier at 10 o'clock PM was made by William Henry Partridge at the end of the 19th century and included as an illustration in a book about Alaska. The image is part of a larger cultural phenomenon, of the American West being discovered, charted, and exploited. The grand, sublime landscape, typical of the romantic aesthetic, is evident in the sheer scale and the contrast between the icy glacier and the rugged mountain face. However, this is more than a passive record. It reflects late 19th-century American ambition and the idea of manifest destiny—the belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent, which involved the displacement of native communities. This image, appearing in a book about Alaska, is a statement of geopolitical interest. To fully understand this image, we need to look at sources like government documents, travelogues, and indigenous accounts. Through them, we can understand art's complex relationship with power, ideology, and social change.