2021-10-16 to 2022-09-05 - Liberty: Don Troiani’s Paintings of the Revolutionary War
Liberty: Don Troiani’s Paintings of the Revolutionary War
October 16, 2021 - September 5, 2022
Without the benefit of photography, the Revolutionary War can be difficult to envision. Using a masterful combination of “artistry and accuracy” (New York Times), nationally renowned historical artist Don Troiani has dedicated much of his career to transforming the modern understanding of what the Revolutionary War truly looked like. His research-based paintings capture the reality and drama of crucial moments such as the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill, General Washington’s daring 1776 attack on Trenton, and the American and French victory at Yorktown in 1781.
Liberty: Don Troiani’s Paintings of the Revolutionary War will plunge visitors into some of the most pivotal events of America’s fight for independence and reveal Troiani’s research-based artistic process. For the first time in a museum, this special exhibition will bring together over 40 of Troiani’s original Revolutionary War paintings and pair them with 40 artifacts from his personal collection, that of the Museum, and several private collectors. The exhibit will also unveil Troiani’s latest canvas, a painting of the young African American sailor and Philadelphian James Forten witnessing Black and Native American troops in the ranks of the Continental Army as they march past Independence Hall on their way to Yorktown, Virginia. The painting was commissioned in 2019 by the Museum with funding provided by the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail of the National Park Service.
Opening just in time for Flag Day, a new summer exhibition at the Museum will showcase dozens of rare American flags alongside historic early state constitutions and the first printing of the proposed U.S. Constitution of 1787 to shed light on the triumphs and tensions that the United States faced as new states joined the union. The exhibit will trace the evolution of the American flag by featuring an example of each iteration as new states were added. By telling stories from the nation’s revolutionary roots to its continuing struggle over equal rights, Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today will encourage visitors to consider their role in the ongoing effort to fulfill the promise of the American Revolution.
The collection of historic flags is on loan from Jeff R. Bridgman, a leading dealer of antique flags and political textiles. The documents are on loan from the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation following their exhibition at the New-York Historical Society, titled Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions: Creating the American Republic.
Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today is presented by American Heritage Credit Union. The exhibition was made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Additional sponsorship is provided by The Color Guard of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution, Morris W. Offit, Mark R. Shenkman, and the family of Irvin and Anita Schorsch.
America 250’s official recognition of Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today acknowledges the program as an expression of the America 250 vision to inspire the American spirit.
