MFA Spotlight Series – serie

American patriot Paul Revere is wrapped in the swirling mixture of myth and poetry through which history often descends, but as a craftsman and artist, he left behind more tangible traces, as well. In this volume, esteemed art historian Gerald W. R. Ward tells the true story of Revere’s most iconic creation, the Sons of Liberty bowl, bravely made and marked by the rebel and silversmith on the threshold of the Revolutionary War. John Singleton Copley’s portrait of Revere, created the same year, 1768, helps introduce the man he was and the legend he became. The painting and the silver bowl are both popularly reproduced and have joined re-tellings of his Midnight Ride to define Revere in the American imagination, in turn signifying the Revolution and the young country’s values.

On the night of 25 December 1776, George Washington led his ragged Continental Army through a snowstorm across the Delaware River, on the way to a surprise attack that would turn the tide of the American Revolution. More than forty years later, the ambitious young painter Thomas Sully chose this dramatic moment as the subject of a portrait of the founding father. He combined careful research into contemporary sources, compositional models drawn from European and American history paintings, and his own flair for theatricality to create a monumental panorama. In it, a dramatically lighted Washington urges on the troops from the back of a magnificent white steed, while his troops contend with the wintry river crossing below. The Passage of the Delaware, the first large-scale painting of this iconic moment, was created in the early years of the burgeoning cult of George Washington, when American artists, writers, and politicians evoked the heroic deeds of the founding fathers to foster a sense of national purpose and unity. This compact introduction to the painting reveals how Sully’s imagination, technique, and ambition came together to embody the drama of the Revolution and the character of its leaders.

In this vivid account of one of Boston’s best-loved paintings, leading American art specialist Erica E. Hirshler illuminates the context of Childe Hassam’s 1880s city scene. With its rosy rust tones, nurturing woman, and quiet expanse of snow-laden park, today At Dusk (Boston Common at Twilight) seems to encourage reflection, yet Hirshler reveals the ways in which it heralded the emerging modern city, from subtleties about women’s place in the urban landscape to the uproarious clang of the streetcars that would have been heard on the busiest block in Boston. Enriched with related paintings and archival illustrations, this evocative volume explores the countered conventions and bulldozed buildings behind the canvas’s creation. Carefully researched and elegantly presented, the latest addition to the MFA Spotlight series will delight Hassam fans and history buffs alike.