(18th century)

Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, In Remembrance of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Independence of the United States, George Stinson & Co., Portland, Maine circa 1876, color lithograph, sheet without extension at bottom, 27-1/2 x 19-3/4 in.; modern black print frame, 35-1/4 x 27-1/4 in.

Note: This print was thought to have been commissioned by the United States Congress for the official celebration of the US Centennial. It depicts the central figure of Liberty/Columbia figure in center, full length seated holding a wreath of laurel leaves and wearing a Phrygian cap, surrounded by flags and stars, and at her feet is a large eagle holding a shield in its claws. The figure is surrounded by a border of 18 oval bust portraits of presidents of the United States from Washington to Grant. Below the eagle in the center bottom of the image are oval bust portraits of the following six Revolutionary War heroes: Israel Putnam, Philip Schuyler, Horatio Gates, Nathaniel Greene, Benjamin Lincoln, and John Sullivan. Above is a birds-eye view of the exposition grounds and small oval vignettes of Independence Hall, Philadelphia (top left), Bunker Hill Monument, Boston (top center) and Faneuil Hall, Boston (top right). Below the center image is text and in the lower left below the date 1776, is a scene of a Revolutionary War battle labeled "The Struggle for Liberty." Below the 1876 date in the lower right are side by side farm and city scenes labeled "Peace and Prosperity."

Provenance: W. Graham Arader III, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania (label verso); A du Pont Family Collection

hinged in, restorations to paper, addition paper at bottom 7/8 x 19-3/4, light toning and fading; frame with minor abrasions