John Trumbull, The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill, 1786, Yale University Art Gallery

About the program:

In this talk, Elizabeth Chew will consider how art shaped Americans' perceptions of the American Revolution. Works of art created during and after the war enabled Americans (first as colonists, then as citizens of a new country) to picture the stories and heroes of the fight for independence. Furthermore, works by artists Charles Willson Peale, John Singleton Copley, John Trumbull, and others provided Americans with a shared origin story for their new nation. 

This program is made possible through the generosity of the Bryant and Nancy Hanley Foundation. 

About the Speaker

Elizabeth Chew

Dr. Elizabeth Chew became CEO of the South Carolina Historical Society in January 2024. A public historian, curator, and educator, she has worked at museums and historic sites for almost forty years. Prior to arriving in Charleston, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Curator at James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange, Virginia and as Curator at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Charlottesville. From 2013-2015 she was the Betsy Main Babcock Director of the Curatorial and Education Division at Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem.

She received a BA from Yale University, an MA from the University of London, and Ph.D. from UNC- Chapel Hill, all in art history.