From the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River
The map shows the states and territories between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River.
AOC employees are responsible for the care and preservation of more than 300 works of art, architectural elements and landscape features.
Browse the collection below or learn more about our artists and featured collections.
Central North America
The map shows the central section of the continent to illustrate the effect of the Louisiana Purchase (1803), the Lewis and Clark expedition, and the opening of the West.
Weaving
The craft is shown as a family operation, with children carding the wool, a young woman spinning it, and an older woman operating a loom.
Sandwich Islands
A map shows the islands now called Hawaii, which were annexed in 1898; an island native carries fruit in an out-rigger canoe with a cloth sail.
Alaskan Purchase, 1867
On this map of the lands, an Eskimo hunts in a kayak; nearby seal and walrus represent the fur trade as well as the subsistence of the indigenous people.
The First Thirteen Colonies
The map shows the first thirteen colonies and the year in which each entered the Union. The original Northwest territories, the Connecticut Reserve, and Spanish and West Florida are also shown.
Canal and Locks
Along the Erie Canal at Lockport, New York, horses are shown pulling the barges that have just gone through the locks.
Covered Wagons
Two different types of covered wagons are shown, along with livestock and a family of settlers cooking a meal over an open fire.
Clearing Land
Two settlers use a team of oxen to remove the stumps of newly felled trees while, in the background, others build a log hut next to an inland river.
Drying Cod
Representing the Great Banks and North Atlantic fisheries, this vignette depicts salt bins, a rod shed, and a pier; a three-masted ship is seen offshore.
Fur Trade
A longhouse of the northwest is decorated with paintings and set amid totems. Before the building, a fur trader is trading guns to the Native Americans for furs.