Faces of Colonial America: An Illustrated and Biographical Account of Twelve Great Colonial Painters and Those They Painted

For many decades the early colonists in British North America found small opportunity, and discovered little inclination, for the painting of fine portraits. Their energies were consumed by the strenuous tasks by which they fed, clothed, and sheltered their bodies and defended their lives. They had no time to develop or practice art amidst the perils from the wild beasts and the hostile natives whom they had dispossessed of their land.Nevertheless, by the end of the 17th century, prosperous cities and large plantations had sprung up from the vast wilderness on the shores of the New World, and the most successful of these colonists were desiring professional portraits to showcase their wealth and position in a developing society.In Faces of Colonial America, we are introduced to the work of twelve great artists, who between 1690 and 1776 preserved on canvas the likenesses of some of the most influential people, who helped shape our country prior to the Revolutionary War. Brief biographical sketches are given of these famous painters and those they painted. Read more