Shooting for the Beef
George Caleb Bingham
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
The glum-looking steer at far left watches as men compete in a shooting contest—a typical western pastime—to win him as a prize. The target is a nail on the board leaning against the dead tree. A sign above reads “To Boonsborough 14 miles.” This town, named for the renowned pioneer Daniel Boone, was in central Missouri’s Boone County.
The lively narrative of rough but amiable frontier types and the far-ranging view of the landscape create a vivid representation of Manifest Destiny. During this era, many Americans believed in divine approval of westward expansion and limitless opportunity for those with a pioneering, competitive spirit.
The lively narrative of rough but amiable frontier types and the far-ranging view of the landscape create a vivid representation of Manifest Destiny. During this era, many Americans believed in divine approval of westward expansion and limitless opportunity for those with a pioneering, competitive spirit.
Caption
George Caleb Bingham (American, 1811–1879). Shooting for the Beef, 1850. Oil on canvas, 33 3/8 × 49 in. (84.8 × 124.5 cm) frame: 45 1/2 × 61 × 5 in. (115.6 × 154.9 × 12.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 40.342. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Shooting for the Beef
Date
1850
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
33 3/8 × 49 in. (84.8 × 124.5 cm) frame: 45 1/2 × 61 × 5 in. (115.6 × 154.9 × 12.7 cm)
Signatures
Signed lower left: "G.C. Bingham / 1850."
Credit Line
Dick S. Ramsay Fund
Accession Number
40.342
Frequent Art Questions
What can you tell me about this?
This painting by Bingham captures a scene in everyday life on the American frontier of the mid-1800s. Bingham was known for his paintings of rural life, particularly in his native Missouri.These men are having a contest. They're shooting a board nailed to a tree, and the winner will take home the "beef"---the cow at the left of the scene! The building behind them is a combination post office and grocery. Their frontier town is still very basic at this point!What is this about?
Bingham was a successful genre painter who focused on rural life in Missouri. In the mid-1800s, that was still a new idea in the United States, where many artists and collectors still preferred European landscapes or idealized views of the American northeast.This scene itself is portraying the everyday life of people on the Missouri frontier, using their rifles at target practice. The winner of the shooting challenge would get the cow depicted on the left of the painting. Hence the name of the painting, "Shooting for the Beef."
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