Online lecture: Painting Patriotism, Healing Wounds: The Art of Col. John Trumbull

The American artist John Trumbull is often remembered as the painter of the American Revolution and the man who captured artistically the most iconic images of nation’s founding period. Much of our sense of how the revolutionary period and the founding fathers looked comes from the drawn-from-life images Trumbull went to great pains to create, whose originals line the walls of places such as the Capitol rotunda in Washington and engravings of which are found on our currency. Yet the road to fame was a difficult one for Trumbull. At a time when artists were looked upon as mere skilled workers, he fought for both status and respect, especially from his father, Governor Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut. This richly illustrated talk discusses the lifelong struggle of John Trumbull to earn respect for his art by painting what he told Thomas Jefferson were some of the “noblest series of actions which have ever presented themselves in the history of man.” It’s a Connecticut family story about a talented son and a demanding father, one that made a very lasting impression on the American memory.

BIO: Walter W. Woodward is Connecticut State Historian emeritus. He served as the State Historian of Connecticut and a member of  the History Department at the University of Connecticut  from 2004 to 2022. He was the fifth person to hold the position of State Historian, which was created in the 1930s in preparation for Connecticut’s 300th anniversary. He retired in July of 2022, becoming Connecticut State Historian emeritus. Dr. Woodward is a scholar of Early American and Atlantic World history, with an emphasis on Connecticut and New England. He is the author of five books, the most recent of which is Creating Connecticut: Critical Moments That Shaped a Great State (Globe Pequot Press, 2020). Woodward continues to research, write and share his love for the history of Connecticut and New England through the Today in Connecticut History program(TODAYINCTHISTORY.com), musical performances with his group The Band of Steady Habits, articles, and public lectures.