“Radicals and Revolutionaries: America’s Founding Fathers”
Johan Frederik Clemens after John Trumbull, The Death of General Montgomery, In the Attack of Quebec, December 1775, 1798, engraving and etching on paper, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Bayou Bend Collection, Museum purchase funded by John H. Adger, John Butler, Ray Childress, M. Robert Dussler, D. Cal McNair, R. Cary McNair, Corbin J. Robertson, Jr., Scott Schwinger, and Michael Stevens in honor of Robert C. McNair and the Houston Texans, at “One Great Night in November, 2007.”
Title
Radicals and Revolutionaries: America’s Founding Fathers
Dates
March 10–May 28, 2018
Overview
Radicals and Revolutionaries: America’s Founding Fathers features 50 works—paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, and decorative arts—from the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, including the rich 18th-century collections of Bayou Bend and Rienzi, and several works from local Houston collections.
During the American Revolution and the early years of the new nation, images of leaders, military, and political events were produced by great artists on both sides of the Atlantic and disseminated throughout the world. American artists such as John Trumbull and Gilbert Stuart established their artistic reputations by painting portraits and battles. These images defined the nation’s visual identity and character, shaping the meaning of American independence while providing a visual roadmap from colony to country.
“Founding Fathers” such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson, became icons of the revolution and the architects of a new nation. In addition to these famous figures, many others played critical roles in the events and outcomes of the American Revolution. In this exhibition, that larger story is told through a transatlantic lens that includes patriots, loyalists, colonists, the English Parliament, the monarchy, Native Americans, African Americans, and women. The exhibition is on view from March 10 through May 28, 2018. For additional information, please visit www.mfah.org
Location
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Cameron Gallery / The Audrey Jones Beck Building
Funding
This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Media Contact
Sarah Hobson, publicist
713.800.5345 / shobson@mfah.org