Seeing America was created by Smarthistory with 22 leading museum collections and examines the long history of the United States, from before European settlers to the modern era.
Thomas Cole, The Voyage of Life
Cole’s extraordinary series chronicles each stage of human life: childhood, youth, manhood, and old age.
George Inness, The Lackawanna Valley
Inness captures a tension between industrial progress and its effect on the American landscape.
Rembrandt Peale, Rubens Peale with a Geranium
An unusual double portrait: a botanist and his geranium.
Francisco Oller y Cestero, President William McKinley
In this remarkable portrait, Oller marks the moment that control of Puerto Rico was transferred from Spain to the United States.
Alice Aycock, Low Building with Dirt Roof (For Mary)
A work of non-functional architecture, Aycock’s structure evokes personal memories and associations to the ancient past.
William F. Cogswell, Queen Lili’uokalani, and Maria Kealaulaokalani Lane Ena, ʻAhu ʻula (The Kalākaua Cape)
This royal portrait and cape convey the power of the Hawaiian monarchy and the tensions around the momentous historical events of 1898.
Jonas Lie, The Conquerors (Culebra Cut, Panama Canal)
Lie portrays man’s dominance over nature in his painting of the construction of the Panama Canal.
Martin Puryear, Lookout
Pierced with holes, this architectural sculpture offers both shelter from and exposure to the surrounding elements.
Kerry James Marshall, Now And Forever; Elizabeth Alexander, “American Song,” Washington National Cathedral
Kerry James Marshall and Elizabeth Alexander create words and images that fill the Washington National Cathedral with hope.
Armando García Menocal, Campesino y soldado español (Peasant and Spanish soldier)
Following the Cuban War of Independence, Menocal seeks to create a distinct Cuban iconography.
Winslow Homer, Searchlight on Harbor Entrance, Santiago de Cuba
A bright new technology and a devastating naval battle during Spanish American War.
Explore the diverse history of the United States through its art. Seeing America is funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
