<Tr> <Th> Location </Th> <Td> Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Owner </Th> <Td> Smithsonian Institution </Td> </Tr> <P> Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (also known as Westward Ho) is a 20 - by - 30 - foot (6.1 m × 9.1 m) painted mural displayed behind the western staircase of the House of Representatives chamber in the United States Capitol Building . The mural was painted by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze in 1861 and symbolizes Manifest Destiny, the belief that the United States was destined for Western exploration and expansion originating from the initial colonies along the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean . A study measuring 33 ⁄ by 43 ⁄ inches (84.5 cm × 110.2 cm) hangs in the Smithsonian American Art Museum . </P> <P> The darkness turning into light represents the greatness that was believed to lie in the future West . </P>

Westward the course of the empire takes its way