July 04, 2012

The Spirit Of America

philamuseum:

Living in the birthplace of freedom with the 4th of July just two days away, we can’t help feeling a little patriotic. So today, More Art Monday travels back to the Revolutionary era to celebrate images of great patriots in our collection. Some you will recognize, others may be new to you. All represent the spirit of America!

Brought to you by ART 24/7

Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky, c. 1816. Benjamin West.

Bust of Benjamin Franklin, 1779. Jean-Antoine Houdon.

Portrait of George Washington (Athenaeum Type), c. 1800. Gilbert Charles Stuart.

Plate from a service for George Washington, 1796. Designed by Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest.

Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Mifflin (Sarah Morris), 1773. John Singleton Copley. Among his noteworthy achievements, Mifflin was a major general in the Continental Army, a Continental Congressman, and a signer of the United States Constitution. He was also the first governor of the state of Pennsylvania.

Chief Justice Thomas McKean and His Son, Thomas McKean, Jr., 1787. Charles Willson Peale. During the American Revolution, McKean was a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

Allegorical Portrait of Nathaniel Greene, Late 18th century. Juste Chevillet. Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War.

Major General William Smallwood, 1788. Charles Willson Peale. A painter and a patriot, Smallwood served in the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of major general.

The Marquis de Lafayette Major General in the Armies of the United States of America, 1787. Charles Willson Peale.

Officer of the Third Regiment of Continental Light Dragoons, 1778. Charles Willson Peale. The 3rd Continental Light Dragoons was a mounted regiment of the Continental Army raised on January 1, 1777 at Morristown, New Jersey.