Forging an American Identity

Painting in the mid 1800s, Ranney's subjects represent the diversity of early America -- from a revolutionary war hero to a family headed West toward a new life, and from the festivity of a Virginia wedding to the profound grief of burying one's child on the prairie. The exhibition that this book accompanies included some 60 works of art that had been gathered from public and private collections across the U.S. It was the first comprehensive exhibition of Ranney's art in over 40 years. This exhibition included paintings that rarely travel and some that have recently been re- discovered. This exhibition was an unparalleled gathering of the artist's most significant paintings. Catalogue raisonné of 150 paintings and 85 drawings.