United States

Ryder’s 1882 visit to Tangier, Morocco, may have inspired this image of a solitary scout, dressed in a white cloak and holding a rifle at the ready. Typical of the artist’s visionary style, the horseman appears like a mirage coming out of a heat-seared desert landscape. This Orientalist subject may have been inspired by the earlier French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix, whose similar paintings were exhibited by Ryder’s New York art dealer.

Ryder’s 1882 visit to Tangier, Morocco, may have inspired this image of a solitary scout, dressed in a white cloak and holding a rifle at the ready. Typical of the artist’s visionary style, the horseman appears like a mirage coming out of a heat-seared desert landscape. This Orientalist subject may have been inspired by the earlier French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix, whose similar paintings were exhibited by Ryder’s New York art dealer.

Although some of Eakins’s portraits incorporate objects that help identify his sitters’ hobbies and occupations, portrait heads emphasize who they were as thinking and feeling human beings. Eakins probably perceived William Woolsey Johnson, a professor of mathematics at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as a kindred spirit, as he once observed, “All the sciences are done in a simple way; in mathematics the complicated things are reduced to simple things. So it is in painting.”

Although some of Eakins’s portraits incorporate objects that help identify his sitters’ hobbies and occupations, portrait heads emphasize who they were as thinking and feeling human beings. Eakins probably perceived William Woolsey Johnson, a professor of mathematics at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as a kindred spirit, as he once observed, “All the sciences are done in a simple way; in mathematics the complicated things are reduced to simple things. So it is in painting.”

Mount Vernon was a slave plantation and the home of George Washington, the first president of the United States. After Washington’s death the property deteriorated drastically—as evidenced here by the exposed and warped porch column. In 1858, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union purchased the mansion and surrounding land for $200,000 and founded the nation’s first historic house museum.

Mount Vernon was a slave plantation and the home of George Washington, the first president of the United States. After Washington’s death the property deteriorated drastically—as evidenced here by the exposed and warped porch column. In 1858, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union purchased the mansion and surrounding land for $200,000 and founded the nation’s first historic house museum.

This painting depicts the children of Reverend William Anderson Scott, a Presbyterian minister in New Orleans from 1842 to 1854. The spire of his First Presbyterian Church is visible at the center of the city’s skyline. Scott family papers suggest that the African American woman at the right is Mila, who was enslaved by the family. Her inferior position relative to the children is emphasized by her posture and placement within the composition.

This painting depicts the children of Reverend William Anderson Scott, a Presbyterian minister in New Orleans from 1842 to 1854. The spire of his First Presbyterian Church is visible at the center of the city’s skyline. Scott family papers suggest that the African American woman at the right is Mila, who was enslaved by the family. Her inferior position relative to the children is emphasized by her posture and placement within the composition.

Peter Quivey was a California pioneer who fought in the Mexican-American War before settling in San Jose. This portrait presents the subject as mediating between the frontier and civilization through contrasting details such as the primitive knife and the sophisticated revolver, and the wild mountain lion and the trained hunting dog. Quivey’s two identities—as a frontiersman and as an art patron—reveal the competing social and cultural agendas that coexisted in Gold Rush California.

Peter Quivey was a California pioneer who fought in the Mexican-American War before settling in San Jose. This portrait presents the subject as mediating between the frontier and civilization through contrasting details such as the primitive knife and the sophisticated revolver, and the wild mountain lion and the trained hunting dog. Quivey’s two identities—as a frontiersman and as an art patron—reveal the competing social and cultural agendas that coexisted in Gold Rush California.