Sandow Birk’s rug design draws from his 1999 painting Northwards the Course of Immigration Makes Its Way, which he based on Emanuel Leutze’s 1891 painting Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way. The Leutze work, which hangs in the US Capitol building, celebrates classic American ideals—bravery, enterprise, self-sufficiency, pursuit of promise—depicting pioneering adventurers navigating a treacherous but beautiful Western landscape. Birk’s intrepid travelers similarly strive for a brighter future, but as suggested by the menacing maw of border fencing and a brutalizing pair of armed guards in their path, the obstacles they face are more malicious, and the rewards far less certain.
