The Continentals
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, George Buchanan Coale Collection
Accession Number
1926.6.8
Tags
maleRevolutionroadwintersoldierdrumflute
About this artwork
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 th...