The American history painter, John Vanderlyn, created his “Washington and Lafayette at the Battle of Brandywine” in 1825, nearly fifty years after the battle took place. In spite of its storybook style, or perhaps because of it, this painting won my heart so completely that I chose to build a composition of my own around its lyrical imagery and heroic intention. In my own painting, “Battle of Brandywine,” I pay tribute to Vanderlyn, but I also pay homage to two great masters of military science, to a fabled “father and son” relationship, and to the spirit of the American Revolution.

The American history painter, John Vanderlyn, created his “Washington and Lafayette at the Battle of Brandywine” in 1825, nearly fifty years after the battle took place. In spite of its storybook style, or perhaps because of it, this painting won my heart so completely that I chose to build a composition of my own around its lyrical imagery and heroic intention. In my own painting, “Battle of Brandywine,” I pay tribute to Vanderlyn, but I also pay homage to two great masters of military science, to a fabled “father and son” relationship, and to the spirit of the American Revolution.