Miners in the Sierras

Charles Christian Nahl and August Wenderoth were refugees from Germany's revolution of 1848. Like thousands before them, they came to California to find their fortunes, but as skilled entrepreneurs rather than adventurers. They built a studio in Sacramento and painted the first wave of prospectors. These miners wear red, white, and blue shirts, signaling California's importance to the nation's future. California became a state in 1850, and was already an economic powerhouse by the time the artists collaborated on this painting.