.png){kind=logo}
Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object name |
Painting |
Title |
The Spirit of '76 |
Artist or maker |
John Ward Dunsmore (1856-1945) |
Date |
1906 |
Place of origin |
USA |
Physical description |
This picture depicts a boy leaving for war with musket in hand. His mother is wishing him well while holding his hand and his younger brother stands anxiously behind him. Through the door the other boys and men can be seen marching. The ususal happening, when a boy left home to join the volunteers, and to enlist for the defense of home and country. It was this spirit that made our forefathers unconquerable, and formed the backbone of this nation. |
Past exhibit |
Dunsmore: Illustrating the American Revolutionary War |
Current exhibit |
Path to Liberty: The Emergence of a Nation |
Gallery label |
Path to Liberty: The Emergence of a Nation (2025): Unlike many Dunsmore paintings depicting documented moments in history, this piece illustrates a common private occurrence; a young man leaving his home and family to join the crowd of other men departing to fight in the Revolution. This scene is a dramatic juxtaposition to the battle scenes portraying hardship, loss, and struggle of the War. |
Catalogue number |
1936.02.011 |
Collection name |
Paintings and Sculpture |
Credit line |
Gift of George A. Zabriskie Memorial, 1936 |
People |
Dunsmore, John Ward |