The art of the early United States reflected the ambitions and values of the new republic.
1776 - 1820
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Gilbert Stuart, The Skater
Depicting his subject in motion was a departure from the norm, making this painting the talk of the town.
Rembrandt Peale, Rubens Peale with a Geranium
An unusual double portrait: a botanist and his geranium.
Jean-Antoine Houdon, George Washington
Lack of an American sculptural tradition compelled Jefferson to look to France for this portrait of Washington.
Thomas Birch, Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie
"We have met the enemy and they are ours." The battle that turned the War of 1812
An African Muslim among the founding fathers, Charles Willson Peale’s Yarrow Mamout
How a portrait of an African Muslim came to hang side-by-side with the founding fathers in one of America's earliest museums.
Thomas Jefferson, Rotunda, University of Virginia
Jefferson’s “academical village” for living and learning is crowned by a building inspired by the Pantheon.
John Trumbull, The Declaration of Independence
Trumbull traveled up and down the Eastern Seaboard to paint the members of the Continental Congress from life.
Charles Willson Peale, The Artist in His Museum
What couldn’t Peale do? He is shown as he saw himself: portraitist, naturalist, curator, and Enlightenment thinker.
Charles Willson Peale, Staircase Group (Portrait of Raphaelle Peale and Titian Ramsay Peale I)
Peale’s sons beckon us up the stairs, but be careful—it might hurt!
John Vanderlyn, Ariadne Asleep on the Island of Naxos
Unusually early for an American artist, Vanderlyn trained in France—but Old World style didn’t sell in America.
Thomas Jefferson, Monticello
In addition to being a politician, Jefferson was an ardent supporter and practitioner of classical architecture.
