Polk in a message to Congress on December 5: "The accounts of abundance of gold are of such an extraordinary character as would scarcely command belief were they not corroborated by the authentic reports of officers in the public service." The following year. tens of thousands of adventurers and dreamers descended upon San Francisco. hoping for a "lucky strike" and a lifetime of wealth. In the process. the City by the Bay swelled from a sleepy outpost of 800 nonNative American individuals in 1848 to a major city of over 100.000 by the end of the following year. The first public schools. representative governmental bodies. and cultural institutions in the State of California evolved from this unplanned invasion of explorers. immigrants. and deserting seamen. "Art of the Gold Rush" highlights the social and cultural transformation wrought by these extraordinary changes. Taking place just a few years after the invention of the daguerreotype (photograph). the Gold Rush was the first major event in history to be photographed. The "Art of The Gold Rush" captures this historical coincidence skillfully. as emotions such as ambition. disappointment. hope. and confusion can be observed in the 150 rare images featured in the exhibition.
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