Glorious Lessons: John Trumbull, Painter of the American Revolution

The complicated life and legacy of John Trumbull, whose paintings portrayed both the struggle and the principles that distinguished America's founding moment

"Nuanced, engaging and incisive."--Stephen Brumwell, Wall Street Journal

"Succinct, both scholarly and direct. . . . Wonderful art history."--Brian T. Allen, National Review

John Trumbull (1756-1843) experienced the American Revolution firsthand--he served as aid to George Washington and Horatio Gates, was shot at, and was jailed as a spy. He made it his mission to record the war, giving visual form to what most citizens of the new United States thought: that they had brought into the world a great and unprecedented political experiment. His purpose, he wrote, was "to preserve and diffuse the memory of the noblest series of actions which have ever presented themselves in the history of man." Although Trumbull's contemporaries viewed him as a painter, Trumbull thought of himself as a historian.

Richard Brookhiser tells Trumbull's story of acclaim and recognition, a story complicated by provincialism, war, a messy personal life, and, ultimately, changing fashion. He shows how the artist's fifty-year project embodied the meaning of American exceptionalism and played a key role in defining the values of the new country. Trumbull depicted the story of self-rule in the modern world--a story as important and as contested today as it was 250 years ago.

Author: Richard Brookhiser
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 05/20/2025
Pages: 276
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.77lbs
Size: 9.15h x 6.37w x 0.54d
ISBN13: 9780300283310
ISBN10: 0300283318
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Historical
- History | United States | Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)
- Biography & Autobiography | Artists, Architects, Photographers

About the Author
Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor of National Review and a fellow of the National Review Institute. His books include Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington and Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln. He lives in New York City.