As the United States of America’s 249th birthday approaches, you can, at the Yale University Art Gallery, return to the country’s date of birth. John Trumbull’s painting The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, meticulously created over the course of decades, depicts the nation’s delivery, with New Haven’s own Roger Sherman given pride of place.
Chances are pretty good you already know about that famous painting, which is permanently displayed near Trumbull’s other Revolution scenes. But you may not know that, on the floor below, the gallery exhibits several examples of silverwork by seminal Son of Liberty Paul Revere, including one of “the only pieces of American silver overtly linked to the political turmoil that led up to the Revolutionary War.” You may not know that a room down there is devoted to Revolution-era domestic objects, from an intricate high chest to a flintlock rifle. Or that another room is built from the actual windows, moldings and wide, creaking floorboards of a Connecticut house built just before the Declaration.
And hey, unlike on July 4, 1776, that room is now air-conditioned.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. This updated story was originally published on June 30, 2023. Image 1 features John Trumbull’s The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Image 2 features detail of a high chest of drawers circa 1770. Image 3 features a trio of Trumbull’s Revolutionary War paintings. Image 4 features a partial view of the 1760-1790 room within the gallery’s American Decorative Arts section. Images 5 and 7 feature objects smithed by Paul Revere. Image 6 features buttons smithed by Paul Revere, Sr. Image 8 and 9 feature period objects in the Rowley room. Image 10 features a wider view of some of John Trumbull’s Revolutionary War paintings, including Declaration.
