George Washington, decorative pin

~At about the time Copley was sailing to England, Joseph Dunkerley, whose works are sometimes confused with Copley’s because of their delicacy, tiny size, and similar casework, was heading for the colonies, where he became one of the first important miniaturists of the new republic. He...

Between 1775 and 1865, the United States moved through an awkward adolescence. Politically, culturally, socially, and economically, the new nation gradually gained an independent sense of self. This was a period of often startling growth. The population increased exponentially; a constant stream of settlers spilled onto the frontier,...