The American Dream

Additional Information

Literature:
The Golden Era: The American Dream — G. Harvey, Somerset House Publishing, Fulshear, TX, 1992: cover, p. 38
The Western Series: G Harvey. Somerset House Publishing, Houston, Texas, 2001. p. 105

Although G. Harvey is known widely in the West for his images of working cowboys and Texas Hill Country, the prominent painter was quite prolific in the genre of city scenes far removed from the West. These images include scenes of trolleys and horse-drawn carriages on snowy streets, flower markets in crowded squares and scenes of people enjoying shop-lined boulevards. Not only did he paint great American cities such as Boston and New York City, but he also traveled far and wide to paint Paris, Moscow and London. Like his Western works, the pieces had all the hallmarks of a G. Harvey painting: gorgeously painted light from a variety of sources, figures framed within luscious paint as they walk straight at the viewer and his turn-of-the-century setting right before cars roared on the streets. Harvey also frequently painted our nation’s capital, which allowed him to underline several patriotic motifs that run through his body of work, including his frequent use of American flags and scenes near statehouses and historic courthouses.

His fascination with Washington, D.C., reached its apex in 1992 when Harvey created the Treasury Collection: Symbols of the Republic, a four-piece series of lithographs to benefit the Treasury Historical Association, which needed funds for the preservation and restoration of the Treasury Building, located immediately adjacent to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. Partnering with the artist was Somerset House Publishing, which had produced Harvey’s prints starting in 1983. Four original oil paintings were made for the Treasury Collection in 1992: Pinnacle of Freedom showing the Washington Monument, Pillars of Strength showing the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue featuring the White House and, represented here with this lot, The American Dream showing the United States Capitol.

The American Dream and the other three works from the series don’t appear in the first edition of the artist’s book The Golden Era: A Celebration of Light — G. Harvey because it was published in 1990, two years before the works were created. But when Harvey created a second edition of the book, retitled as The Golden Era: The American Dream — G. Harvey, he not only included a small chapter on the Treasury Collection, but he also put The American Dream on the cover. “Inspired by the dignity and elegance of our nation’s capital city, G. Harvey created four masterpieces of its most enduring symbols—that will stir emotions of patriotism and pride in all,” wrote Randy Best in the book’s second edition. “A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each print in this historic series was designated to further the missions of the Treasury Historical Association, which include the preservation and restoration of the Treasury Building. A monumental structure, it appears on our $10 bill and is the governmental foundation of our economy. Since 1985, several restoration projects in the building have brought various rooms and spaces to their original design of the mid-19th century.”

In 1992, not long after it was painted, The American Dream was loaned from Harvey’s personal collection to the Art in Embassies program within the U.S. Department of State. The loan was conceived as a show of support to fellow Texan Robert Strauss, the United States’ ambassador to Russia. The painting hung in the American embassy in Moscow for at least a year. The work was on display in the embassy at a pivotal time for U.S-Russian relations as the fall of the Soviet Union had only concluded in December 1991, roughly four months prior to the arrival of the painting in Moscow.

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Please note that the first unframed photo is most accurate for color. Framed photographs are to show the frame and are not color corrected to the painting.

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