One of the most recognized paintings in American history, this painting is an ode to friendship and nature
Realism in the United States
This vertical landscape of Virginia recalls ancient Roman architecture, tying the American republic to Rome's
Frederic Church, The Natural Bridge, Virginia
Painted during Reconstruction, this sentimental watercolor depicts the hope of transformation and possibility
Winslow Homer, Taking Sunflower to Teacher
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?
Winslow Homer, Army Teamsters
Home wrote that the sharpshooter's role was "as near to murder as anything I can think of."
The U.S. Civil War, sharpshooters and Winslow ...
Cotton, oil, and the economics of history
Samuel Colman, Jr., Ships Unloading, New York
In the wake of the Civil War, mending the United States, one stitch at a time.
Lilly Martin Spencer, The Home of the ...
The dubious justice of the anti-immigrant Know-Nothings.
Blythe, Justice
Martyr or murderer? John Brown has polarized political opinion from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement.
Thomas Hovenden, The Last Moments of John ...
Before T.V. and Twitter, politicians talked to voters face-to-face.
George Caleb Bingham, Country Politician
Living in peace—predator and prey, and Native Americans and settler colonists—but for how long?
Hicks’s The Peaceable Kingdom as Pennsylvania parable
Is there a political message behind this image of two farmers settling the price of a horse?
William Sidney Mount, Bargaining for a Horse
Painted for a divided US, people from North and South could identify with this image—others remain marginalized.
Richard Caton Woodville, War News from Mexico
This snowy image of a bygone Brooklyn is sprinkled with farm animals, townspeople... and casual racism.
Francis Guy, Winter Scene in Brooklyn
The artist eliminated a key element of this innovative painting five years after he finished it.
Winslow Homer, Northeaster
Suspended above the sea, the drama of this rescue scene comes from nature, not man.
Winslow Homer, The Life Line
Homer’s fisherman just wants to bring his halibut safely to his ship—but as usual, nature is ruining everything.
Winslow Homer, The Fog Warning (or Halibut ...
In order to capture the beauty of America’s national parks, Brown faced the prejudices of the lawless West.
Grafton Tyler Brown, View of the Lower ...
Men in suits cut open a leg while their teacher holds a bloody, gloveless hand aloft. Gross indeed.
Thomas Eakins, The Gross Clinic and ...
Eakins’ serene river scene celebrates a personal friend as well as an interest in masculine athleticism.
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