John Insco Williams, River Scene, 1863, oil on canvas

John Insco Williams was a well­-known artist in Indiana during the mid­-1800’s. Williams had some success in Ohio, where he received his training but moved to Indiana for new opportunities and jobs. There is not much known about Williams beyond one mural titled River Scene. This painting ended in the Elston Home after coming from Isaac Elston II’s wife Sara. It depicts an exciting scene of the western wild with a mighty river, mountains, and pioneers.

This painting portrays a fantasy place and would accurately explains the fears and insecurities people have about moving westward. One of the most interesting and confusing parts of this painting are the figures in the bottom left and right corners. Williams is probably using them to try and show us how wild and dangerous the West is. There are huge, steep mountains, men and women on horseback and Indians who are controlling the rivers and water ways. Williams is portraying the dangers of traveling West and expanding into new territory.

When Isaac C. Elston II married Sara Mills in 1862, this painting resided in the Mills’ house in Marietta, Ohio. This painting, along with others, was removed from the Mills’ house and taken to the Elstons house when the two moved to Crawfordsville. The Mills’ house in Marietta, Ohio, is now the home of the current president of Marietta College.