From a renegade colony to the early years of the United States. What did this transitional period look like?
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Rembrandt Peale, Rubens Peale with a Geranium
An unusual double portrait: a botanist and his geranium.
Teaching guide
Thomas Birch, Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie
Perry's painting of the Battle of Lake Erie celebrates the U.S. victory in the War of 1812, but it doesn't depict the aftermath's devastating effects on Native Americans.
APUSH: KC-4.3.I.A.ii
Dreaming big
Cole, the great American landscape painter, looks across the vast history of Western architecture
Architect of the Enlightenment
In addition to being an politician, Jefferson was an ardent supporter and practitioner of classical architecture.
Picturing George Washington
Presidential portraits of George Washington were Stuart’s bread and butter when he returned to his native America.
The making of Paul Revere’s fame
Well known in his own day as a silversmith, Revere is shown in casual attire, with a teapot brimming with meaning.
Jean-Antoine Houdon, George Washington
Lack of an American sculptural tradition compelled Jefferson to look to France for this portrait of Washington.
Painting the Declaration of Independence
Trumbull traveled up and down the Eastern Seaboard to paint the members of the Continental Congress from life.
