One of the most recognized paintings in American history, this painting is an ode to friendship and nature
Seeing America – Periods: 1848-1877
Edmonia Lewis, an artist of Black and Indigenous heritage, uses a neoclassical style to depict Indigenous subjects from a popular novel around the time of the U.S. Civil War
Edmonia Lewis, The Old Arrow Maker
Sculpted just before the U.S. Civil War, this monument to George Washington recalls an ancient Roman emperor and represents what the North and South could and could not agree on
Thomas Crawford, George Washington Equestrian Monument
Summer, autumn, a saw mill all provide metaphors about American republicanism in this pre-Civil War landscape
Jasper Francis Cropsey, Mount Jefferson, Pinkham Notch, ...
This vertical landscape of Virginia recalls ancient Roman architecture, tying the American republic to Rome's
Landscape and the American republic, Frederic Church’s ...
Painted during Reconstruction, this sentimental watercolor depicts the hope of transformation and possibility
Winslow Homer, Taking Sunflower to Teacher
Learn the story behind this totem pole that no longer stands
The story of the Oyster Man, a ...
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
What does this marble sculpture of Cleopatra tell us about race and the Civil War in the U.S.?
Race and self-governance: William Wetmore Story, Cleopatra
What is a potlatch? And how is it related to this totem pole?
Haida potlatch pole
The body of this box is made of one piece of wood carefully bent into its four sides
Bentwood Boxes of the Northwest Coast peoples
Learn about two types of totem poles from the Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest Coast that memorialize individuals who have passed
Tlingit mortuary and memorial totem poles
A critic accused Whistler of “flinging paint at the public” when he saw this painting, so Whistler sued him.
Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold: The ...
The University of Alabama, Civil War, and slavery; examining the role of architecture as historical marker
Slavery at the West Point of the ...
The natural world and political metaphor, Church's Cotopaxi
Science, religion, and politics:
Church’s Cotopaxi
Homer 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 ...
A horrifying painting of racial violence that can help us see where we are and where we need to be in terms of tolerance and empathy
Vertis Hayes, The Lynchers
One of the most famous landscape photographs showing the horrible aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Photographing the Battle of Gettysburg: Timothy O’Sullivan’s ...
Thomas Nast's cartoon urges its viewers to confront white supremacy.
Nast and Reconstruction: understanding a political cartoon
The Know-Nothings: a short-lived party with long-term influence.
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