The Continentals

Object Details

Date
1875
Artist
Frank Blackwell Mayer, born Baltimore, MD 1827-died Annapolis, MD 1899
Luce Center Label
Frank Blackwell Mayer painted this scene of Continental soldiers on the centennial of the battle of Bunker Hill, the first great battle of the Revolutionary War. In 1876 he submitted it to the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, an event that celebrated the founding of the nation. The painting was highly praised and became so popular that other artists copied it enthusiastically. The cheerful image of soldiers marching through the snow to the beat of a drum and the sound of a flute reinforced the glowing myth of the war, inspiring a renewed patriotism on the nation’s one hundredth birthday. (Page, “Francis Blackwell Mayer,” The Magazine Antiques, February 1976)
Topic
Figure group\male
Landscape\road
Landscape\season\winter
Performing arts\music\drum
Occupation\military\soldier
Performing arts\music\flute
History\United States\Revolution
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Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 14B
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, George Buchanan Coale Collection
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Object number
1926.6.8
Type
Painting
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
22 1/2 x 18 3/8 in. (57.0 x 46.7 cm.)
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk72053f8d3-7c11-4977-b636-d7c52ce02429
Record ID
saam_1926.6.8