The Painter's Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution

Zara Anishanslin is coming to the Saint Louis Art Museum on Saturday, October 24, for a lecture titled The Painter's Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution. It's a look at the artists who worked alongside soldiers on both sides of the Atlantic to help forge the revolutionary ideals of the American Revolution.

Most of us think of the Revolution in terms of battles and treaties, but Anishanslin focuses on the people who fought it with paint, canvas, wax, and espionage. She centers the talk on three largely forgotten patriot artists—Robert Edge Pine, Prince Demah, and Patience Wright—who defied the British monarchy and risked their lives and reputations to support the cause of liberty. It's a story about how art wasn't just documenting the war, but actively shaping the ideals that drove it.

Anishanslin is an associate professor of history and art history and the director of the Museum Studies and Public Engagement Program at the University of Delaware, so she's coming in with a deep background in both the historical and the artistic sides of the subject. If you've ever wondered how the visual side of the Revolution actually worked—and who the people were behind the images—this is exactly that.

The lecture runs from 11 AM to 12 PM at the Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Dr, St. Louis, Missouri 63110. It's a Saturday morning slot, so you can catch it and still have the rest of your weekend open.