End of the Trail

When displayed at the 1915 Panama - Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, End of the Trail was instantly recognized as one of the defining images to come out of America's Western heritage. In despair and submission, the rider has dropped his lance, bent his back and bowed his head. His horse, too, reflects the no longer proud posture of his master's glorious tradition. By 1893, when the composition was created, the Sioux had been forced into Dakota country and all but vanished as a nation.