Painter

Mather Brown

American painter, active in England; 1761—1831.

John Singleton Copley

American painter, principally active in London after 1774; 1738—1815.

Charles Willson Peale

American painter, soldier; created first American museum; 1741—1827.

Rembrandt Peale

American painter, son of Charles Willson Peale; 1778—1860.

Gilbert Stuart

American painter of quintessential portraits, including George Washington; 1755—1828.

Thomas Sully

British-born painter, mainly of portraits, extended the iconography of the Revolution and the Founding Fathers into the 19th century; 1783—1872.

John Trumbull

American artist, soldier at the Battle of Trenton; 1756—1843.

John Vanderlyn

American artist, worked in Philadelphia under Gilbert Stuart, protégé of Aaron Burr; 1775—1852.

Benjamin West

American-born painter who moved to England in 1763; 1738—1820.

The failure of the Loyalists to flock to the royal standard cannot be understood without appreciating how effectively they had been locked down and neutralized by the patriots. Loyalists could not buy, sell, or bequeath property or other assets. They were barred from all legal recourse to recover debts or redress any other injury. They could not practice law or teach unless they had taken an oath of allegiance to the cause. They could not be executors of estates or be a guardian to a child. Any person who wrote, or spoke, or by any act libeled or defamed Congress ... should be brought to trial.

— Michael Stephenson

Patriot Battles: How the War of Independence Was Fought (2007)