American Encounters: Anglo-American Portraiture in an Era of Revolution

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Musée du Louvre, the High Museum of Art and the Terra Foundation for American Art have announced the third installation in their four-year collaboration focusing on the history of American art. American Encounters: Anglo-American Portraiture in an Era of Revolution provides a close look at five paintings that demonstrate how portraiture evolved in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as American and European painters were influenced by one another. The installation’s five works have never been displayed together previously.

Following its inaugural presentation at the Louvre (Feb. 1–April 28, 2014), the installation will travel to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (May 17–Sept. 15, 2014), and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga. (Sept. 28, 2014–Jan. 18, 2015).

Three of the portraits in the exhibition depict George Washington, and the others show Hugh Percy, Second Duke of Northumberland; and Lieutenant Robert Hay of Spott—both of whom were soldiers who may have fought against Washington in the Revolutionary War. The relationship between these works indicates that Britain and the U.S. were as connected through art during the period of the Revolutionary War as they were through commerce and politics.

This exhibition is sponsored locally by the Crystal Bridges Global Initiative Fund: Chuck and Terri Erwin, Reed and Mary Ann Greenwood, Warren and Harriet Stephens, Stella Boyle Smith Trust and Marvelyn Stout.