Since the founding of the United States, American painters have sought to capture the essence of the country on canvas. From Sea to Shining Sea: 200 Years of American Art presents nearly 100 works that span the first two centuries of our rich history, highlighting the variety and strength of American artistic achievement from the colonial era through the World Wars.

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AN EXHIBITION

Albert Bierstadt, View of Niagra Falls From Prospect Point

Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington

 “During a time when our country appears divided, we want to celebrate our finest historic moments as a nation. The War for Independence, westward expansion, the rise of the modern age - these important times, when viewed through the canvases of America's greatest artists, remind us that as a nation we have and will continue to persevere.”

— Bill Rau, Owner of M.S. Rau Antiques

One of the greatest unifying qualities of American painting - and ultimately the source of its strength - has been its dedication to the nation. An enduring American vision permeates even the earliest paintings of colonial America, and the thread can be traced thereafter through the works of the great landscape and genre painters of the 19th century and into the modern cityscapes of artists at the turn of the century. Taken as a whole, the nation’s painters have produced a rich pictorial essay on what it means to be American throughout the country’s relatively short history.

Building an American Identity through Art

The Evolution of a Nation

Through three specific time periods, the exhibition explores changes not only in the artistic traditions of the country, but also its cultural and economic evolution over the course of two centuries.

THE EARLY REPUBLIC 1770-1810

Portrait Of Henry Belasyse by John Singleton Copley

Portrait Of Margaret Whaley Hurst by James Earl

A Mighty Angel Standeth by Benjamin West

VISIONS OF A NATION 1800-1890

Summer Landscape, White Mountains
by George Inness

Indian Scouts Observing A Wagon Train by Lawrence Earle

MODERN AMERICA 1880-1940

Siesta By Frederick Carl Frieseke

Farm Horse by Andrew Wyeth

Gardiner’s Island - The Back Dive By Childe Hassam

Building an American Identity through Art

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