Lifetime Learning: Painting the Revolution

In honor of our 250th birthday, Beth Stein will examine five great American artists of the late 18th century – Charles Willson Peale, John Singleton Copley, Benjamin West, John Trumbull, and Gilbert Stuart. Starting their careers as British subjects loyal to the Crown, the American Revolution forced them to examine whether to carry forward this status or become contributing citizens in the new republic. They lived through a time of incredible change that demanded to be painted for the people of their time, and for posterity – independence, warfare, diplomatic triumphs, the Constitution, and more. Our understanding of what America’s origins look like is largely dependent on these artists.