Artists make history. They are storytellers, compiling information and choosing what is included and what is not. Assembled later from memories and legends, most of the art displayed in this gallery reflects painters’ and patrons’ perceptions, goals, and beliefs. Their stories have survived but have left us with an incomplete image of the past.

Painting for a young nation, John Trumbull, Gilbert Stuart, and Thomas Sully helped invent a national history for the United States, elevating its heroes, particularly George Washington, to mythical status. Their scenes were intended to promote harmony between diverse regions and viewpoints. They also reinforced prejudices, often omitting important truths.

Other citizens also shaped the new nation, though they are largely missing from formal portraiture. Among them were Crispus Attucks, a mixed-race sailor killed at the Boston Massacre; writers like Abigail Adams, who argued for the position of women; and Black abolitionist Prince Hall, who dreamed that national service would lead to liberation. Here visitors can also see work by contemporary artists who wrestle with America’s founding myths, questioning what stories have been left out.