Portrait Stories: African Americans and the Founding Era | BRIdge from the Past

BRIdge from the Past: Art Across U.S. History is a new YouTube series for students that explores an important historic image every episode to gain insights into the culture, politics, and society of a particular time in U.S. history. Host Mary Patterson will explain how each primary source is its own “window to the past,” revealing new areas for contemplation and discussion.

Images can help tell the story of major events throughout U.S. History, but sometimes, you must look closely to uncover the hidden stories from the past. In this episode of BRIdge From The Past, Mary explores famous paintings depicting the role of African Americans during the American Revolution. How are African Americans depicted in paintings from this period? What clues are we still missing from their role in the Revolutionary War?

This week, Mary brings Gary on to compare the portraits of the famous two Georges of early American history, George Washington and King George III of England. They'll explore the reasons behind each man's deliberately chosen outfits and stances. What do these paintings convey about the leaders' confidence and leadership against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War? And what unlikely similarities between the two men do these paintings reveal?

Even the most influential and prestigious among us aren’t without their faults, and Thomas Jefferson was no exception. In this Primary Close Read video, Kirk Higgins, Mary Patterson, and Elizabeth Evans compare Benjamin Banneker's letter to Thomas Jefferson and Titus Kaphar's interpretation of Thomas Jefferson's legacy in his painting "Behind the Myth of Benevolence." Why are these pieces important to our understanding of Jefferson? What do they tell us about the present moment in American history?