View masterpieces portraying the men, women, and children of early America, from paintings by the first immigrant limners at work on these shores to the work of highly professionalized artists who worked in the country's major cities just before the Civil War. These stunning paintings depict not only people from a particular time and place, but they also reveal the values of the nation across a span of nearly 150 years.

Winterthur is the only venue for this select group of portraits from The Met, which represents many of the young country's great artists, including John Smibert, John Singleton Copley, Gilbert Stuart, and Samuel F. B. Morse.

Winterthur will offer guided gallery walks through the exhibition every Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 am, 1:00 pm, and 2:00 pm. Hands on History carts will be available in the gallery for families to enjoy beginning September 5; please see the Calendar of Events section for dates and times.


The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

It is sponsored by and Potter Anderson & Corroon.

Images: Francis Brinley (detail), John Smibert, 1729, oil on canvas, Rogers Fund; Susan Walker Morse (The Muse) detail, Samuel F. B. Morse, ca. 1836–37, oil on canvas, Bequest of Herbert L. Pratt. All images courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.