Painting the Revolution

The five great American artists of the late 18^th century – Charles Willson Peale, John Singleton Copley, Benjamin West, John Trumbull and Gilbert Stuart – had started their careers as British subjects, loyal to the Crown.  The Revolution forced them to examine whether they intended to carry forward this status or become contributing citizens in the new republic.  They lived through a time of great change that demanded to be painted for the people of their time, and for posterity – independence, warfare, diplomatic triumph, near collapse, the Constitution, the rise of the presidency and the federal government.  They attempted to make sense of it all by turning to brushes and canvases.  Their images have become what the Iliad and the Aeneid meant to the ancient Greeks and Romans. We have come to believe in them and what they say about the Revolution and the Founders, by breathing life into historical events and figures.   Even today, our collective understanding of what America’s origins look like is still largely dependent on these five artists and their images.  Come hear Beth Stein as she examines the lives and iconic works of these five extraordinary artists, in honor of our country’s 250^th birthday!