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American colonial and Federal art

Portraits and pictures from early America, before and after independence.

29 works · hang 752 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. Artist: Charles Willson Peale, Sitter: Richard Henry Lee, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
    Richard Henry LeeCharles Willson Peale, c. 1795-1805Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
  2. Boy in Blue Coat, c. 1730
    Boy in Blue CoatUnrecorded American maker, c. 1730Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. The image shows the upper half of a seated woman facing forward. She has her hands clasped together in front of her. The woman appears calm with visible signs of age, including a few wrinkles on her face. She wears a white bonnet with a frilled edge tied under her chin, a dark shawl over a white high-collared blouse, and sits on a red chair with a gold trim. A red book and a handkerchief are on the surface next to her. The background transitions from deep red to brown tones.
    Ann Old Coleman (Mrs. Robert Coleman)Jacob Eichholtz, c. 1820Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. Mary Walton Morris, by John Wollaston, 1749/1752
    Mary Walton MorrisJohn Wollaston, 1749/1752Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Section 1, south wall

  1. The image shows a man depicted from the waist up, positioned slightly turned to the side yet facing the viewer directly. He has a composed expression with defined facial features, including a high forehead, strong eyebrows, prominent cheekbones, and a clean-shaven face. His hair is dark and curly, styled away from his forehead. He is dressed in a dark coat featuring a double-breasted design with gold buttons, complemented by a high-collared, white cravat intricately tied at his neck. In the background, there is a subtle, dark, greenish hue.
    Zachariah SchoonmakerJohn Vanderlyn, 1815/1818Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Mrs. John Winthrop, by John Singleton Copley, 1773
    Mrs. John WinthropJohn Singleton Copley, 1773Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Three pale-skinned, blue-eyed children wearing green suits stand in a row facing us in this horizontal portrait painting. They all have round faces and full, pink cheeks. The tallest child is to the right, and he has shoulder-length cinnamon-brown hair. The other two come up to his shoulder and have blond hair. The tallest puts one arm on the far shoulder of the middle child, and the two smaller children hold hands. Each wears a pine-green, one-piece outfit with pewter-gray buttons, a wide, ivory-white collar lined with ruffles, and black, shin-high boots. The boy on our left holds a branch of dark red cherries. The middle child holds a pink rose, and the tallest a basket filled with pink roses. A black dog holding a gray and mauve-pink bird in its mouth stands in profile facing our left in the lower right corner of the canvas. The room around them has a tan-colored floor and gray walls. The room opens onto an alcove to our right with a rectangular window. A slender tree is along the left edge of the opening and a few pale, pink-tinged gray mountains line the bottom edge. Clear blue sky fills the rest of the window.
    The Westwood ChildrenJoshua Johnson, c. 1807Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. Artist: Thomas Sully, Sitter: John Sergeant, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
    John SergeantThomas Sully, 1811Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Section 2, south wall

  1. The image shows an upper-body portrait of a man seated in a formal position. The man is depicted with a slight turn of his head, directly facing the viewer with a composed expression. He has short gray hair that is neatly styled. His facial features include a high forehead and firm jawline. He is dressed in a dark formal jacket with a high-collared white shirt visible at the neckline. His left hand rests on the arm of the chair, which is ornately carved with a scroll design. A fabric with an intricate pattern is draped over the back of the chair. There is no visible jewelry. In the background, there is a muted backdrop with a warm hue. On the left side of the image, a flowing drapery in a rich reddish tone adds depth to the setting.
    Charles Carnan RidgelyThomas Sully, 1820Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Senator Thomas Hart Benton, by Matthew Harris Jouett, 1820s
    Senator Thomas Hart BentonMatthew Harris Jouett, 1820sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Daniel Crommelin Verplanck, by John Singleton Copley, 1771
    Daniel Crommelin VerplanckJohn Singleton Copley, 1771Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, north wall

  1. A pale-skinned, clean-shaven man with a heavily lined, paunchy face sits against a green and red wall in this vertical portrait painting. The man sits in a wooden chair painted forest green and rests both hands on the closer arm. His body and knees are angled to our left, and he turns his wide, square face to look at with heavy-lidded eyes. One brow seems slightly cocked, and he has a large nose. His lips are pulled up on one side over a round double chin. He wears a white, shoulder-length wig and a sable-brown suit. The cuffs of a white shirt are visible at his wrists where his hands are stacked on the arm of the chair. The knee-length breeches are buckled at the knee over black stockings. His legs are crossed away from us, and his feet extend off the bottom edge of the composition. The bottom half of the wall behind him is painted burgundy red up to and including a chair rail, and the wall above is moss green. The wall is lined with a gold scallop pattern along the top of the chair rail and a sliver of brown on across the bottom of the composition suggests a wood floor. The artist signed and dated the painting as if he had inscribed the red wall near the man’s knees, “John Singleton Copley pinx 1772. Boston.”
    Eleazer TyngJohn Singleton Copley, 1772Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. This painting is a portrait of a man from the waist up. He is facing us, with pale skin, thin lips, rosy cheeks, light green eyes, and gray hair styled into curls around his ears. He has a neutral expression. The man is wearing a dark coat with gold buttons on the front, with a pale-yellow shirt underneath and a white cravat around his neck. The background is a dark and indistinct brown color.
    Abraham KintzingThomas Sully, 1815Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Jonathan Bentham, c. 1725
    Jonathan BenthamUnrecorded American maker, c. 1725Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Section 3, north wall

  1. Mrs. Jerathmael Bowers, by John Singleton Copley, ca. 1763
    Mrs. Jerathmael BowersJohn Singleton Copley, ca. 1763Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. George Washington, by Charles Willson Peale, ca. 1779–81
    George WashingtonCharles Willson Peale, ca. 1779–81Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art