Seth Eastman (1808 – 1875)
Sunset on the Texas Coastal Plains
Oil on canvas 
signed Seth Eastman, lower right 
Canvas size: 24 x 36 in. 

Provenance: [Tepper Galleries, New York, 1976]
Private collection, New York, acquired directly from the above

In Sunset on the Texas Coastal Plains, Seth Eastman captures the untouched beauty of the vast Texas landscape. Painted during his first visit to Texas, the scene depicts a glowing sunset over the coastal grasslands, featuring native bluestem grass, inland marshes, and sycamore trees. The painting evokes the sense of an untouched frontier, highlighting the contrast between Eastman’s experience of the east and the unique landscape of Texas.

Unlike his well-known depictions of Native American life, Eastman focuses here on a new and unfamiliar environment, painting the coastal plains in their pristine state—before ranching and development altered the landscape forever. The subtle figures in the painting are more likely Tejanos than Native Americans, reflecting the cultural diversity present at the time.

This work is one of the few known oil paintings by Eastman depicting Texas, offering a rare glimpse of this frontier landscape in its original form, untouched by the changes of westward expansion.