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Winslow Homer, <em>Searchlight on Harbor Entrance, Santiago de Cuba</em>
Winslow Homer, Searchlight on Harbor Entrance, Santiago de Cuba

A bright new technology and a devastating naval battle during Spanish American War.

Asher B. Durand, <em>Kindred Spirits</em>
Asher B. Durand, Kindred Spirits

One of the most recognized paintings in American history, this painting is an ode to friendship and nature

Frederic Church, <em>The Natural Bridge, Virginia</em>
Frederic Church, The Natural Bridge, Virginia

This vertical landscape of Virginia recalls ancient Roman architecture, tying the American republic to Rome's

Winslow Homer, <em>Taking Sunflower to Teacher</em>
Winslow Homer, Taking Sunflower to Teacher

Painted during Reconstruction, this sentimental watercolor depicts the hope of transformation and possibility

Winslow Homer, <i>Army Teamsters</i>
Winslow Homer, Army Teamsters

Is this painting of five men, possibly formerly enslaved, working for the Union Army during the Civil War a product of racist stereotypes, or does it humanize its subjects?

The U.S. Civil War, sharpshooters and Winslow Homer
The U.S. Civil War, sharpshooters and Winslow Homer

Home wrote that the sharpshooter's role was "as near to murder as anything I can think of."

Samuel Colman, Jr., <em>Ships Unloading, New York</em>
Samuel Colman, Jr., Ships Unloading, New York

Cotton, oil, and the economics of history

Lilly Martin Spencer, <em>The Home of the Red, White, and Blue</em>
Lilly Martin Spencer, The Home of the Red, White, and Blue

In the wake of the Civil War, mending the United States, one stitch at a time.

Blythe, <em>Justice</em>
Blythe, Justice

The dubious justice of the anti-immigrant Know-Nothings.

Thomas Hovenden, The Last Moments of John Brown
Thomas Hovenden, The Last Moments of John Brown

Martyr or murderer? John Brown has polarized political opinion from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement.

George Caleb Bingham, <em>Country Politician</em>
George Caleb Bingham, Country Politician

Before T.V. and Twitter, politicians talked to voters face-to-face.

Hicks’s <em>The Peaceable Kingdom</em> as Pennsylvania parable
Hicks’s The Peaceable Kingdom as Pennsylvania parable

Living in peace—predator and prey, and Native Americans and settler colonists—but for how long?

Selected Contributors