The Continentals

Frank Blackwell Mayer, The Continentals, 1875, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, George Buchanan Coale Collection, 1926.6.8
Copied Frank Blackwell Mayer, The Continentals, 1875, oil on canvas, 22 1⁄2 x 18 3⁄8 in. (57.0 x 46.7 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, George Buchanan Coale Collection, 1926.6.8
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Artwork Details

Title
The Continentals
Artist
Date
1875
Location
Dimensions
22 1⁄2 x 18 3⁄8 in. (57.0 x 46.7 cm.)
Credit Line
George Buchanan Coale Collection
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group — male
  • Landscape — road
  • Landscape — season — winter
  • Performing arts — music — drum
  • Occupation — military — soldier
  • Performing arts — music — flute
  • History — United States — Revolution
Object Number
1926.6.8
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1926.6.8

Artwork Description

Frank Blackwell Mayer painted this scene of Continental soldiers on the centennial of the battle of Bunker Hill, the first great battle of the Revolutionary War. In 1876 he submitted it to the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, an event that celebrated the founding of the nation. The painting was highly praised and became so popular that other artists copied it enthusiastically. The cheerful image of soldiers marching through the snow to the beat of a drum and the sound of a flute reinforced the glowing myth of the war, inspiring a renewed patriotism on the nation’s one hundredth birthday. (Page, “Francis Blackwell Mayer,” The Magazine Antiques, February 1976)