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In 1862, the Pacific Railway Act provided funding for a transcontinental railway that would connect burgeoning California with the rest of the country. The Union Pacific Railroad was given the contract to build west from Omaha, Nebraska and the Central Pacific Railroad would build east from Sacramento, California. In 1869, the two railroads met at Promontory Summit in Utah Territory.
Victory Camp (later named Rozel Point), located west of Promontory, was so called because Charles Crocker of the Central Pacific won a $10,000 wager from the Union Pacific that his crews could lay more miles of track than the Union Pacific. The Central Pacific hired an additional crew of Chinese laborers. Working alongside the Irish track layers, they built over ten miles of track in twelve hours, a feat that has never been equaled. Their efforts completed the Central Pacific segment of the Transcontinental Railroad. On May 10, 1869, the two tracks met at Promontory Summit in the famous Golden Spike ceremony. Local officials turned out to drive the ceremonial Golden Spike with the ceremonial silver sledgehammer, which made official the joining of the East Coast and the West. After the ceremony had ended, the Golden Spike and laurel railroad tie were removed and Chinese laborers quietly finished the track with a wooden tie and steel spike.
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Born in Southern China, Mian Situ received his formal art training in his
native homeland of Guangdong, formerly Canton. He graduated with a Bachelor of
Fine Arts from the prestigious Guangzhou Institute of Fine Art. After
instructing for six years, he earned a Masters in Fine Art.
Immigrating to Canada, then later moving to the United States, Mian’s
paintings clearly reflect his upbringing in the rural countryside of his
native China. His artistic diversification of subject matter, from the people
of the small villages and farming communities going about their daily lives to
the exquisite portraitures as well as his most recent works inspired by
western historical themes and American landscapes, all reflect the sensitive
dedication of this Master Artist.
Mian has been recognized with many national art awards. During the 2002
Masters of the American West exhibition and sale at the Autry National Center
in Los Angeles California, Mian Situ received the Masters of the American West
Museum Purchase Award, the Thomas Moran Memorial Award for Artistic Merit and
the Patron’s Choice Award. In 2003, Mian was honored with the Thomas Moran
Memorial Award, Artist’s Choice Award and Patron’s Choice Award. Most
recently, in 2005, Mian was presented with the Artist’s Choice Award for his
painting, The Word of God. Mian Situ is represented by Trailside Galleries in
Scottsdale, Arizona and Jackson, Wyoming. He lives with his wife, Helen and
daughter, Lisa in Southern California.
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