As a child, George Caleb Bingham dreamed of becoming a painter. He taught himself to paint and learned from other artists when he could. George painted everyday people doing everyday things, like people working on the river or voting in an election. George also had a passion for politics and he became a state legislator in 1848. After the Civil War, George left his political career and became the first professor of art at the University of Missouri. George Caleb Bingham's paintings are a visual history of the wild frontier of a young America. George's scenes are still popular because they show the beginning of a new nation, full of life and possibilities.