423 The Forgotten Artists of the American Revolution

Ben Franklin's World

Liz Covart

Earlyrepublic, History, Benfranklin, Society & Culture, Warforindependence, Earlyamericanrepublic, Earlyamericanhistory, Education, Colonialamerica, Americanrevolution, Ushistory, Benjaminfranklin

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2025

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Have you ever noticed how conversations about the American Revolution often center on great battles, founding documents, and famous statesmen? What if, instead, we explored that world through the eyes—and the hands—of everyday people who shaped it through art? Zara Anishanslin, Associate Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware and Director of its Museum Studies and Public Engagement Program, joins us to uncover the hidden world of artists, artisans, and makers who painted, stitched, and crafted the Revolution into being. Drawing from her book The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution, Zara helps us see how creativity and craftsmanship tell a fuller—and more human—story of America’s founding.Zara’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/423 EPISODE OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:41.79 Welcome & Episode Overview 00:02:59 Meet Our Guest 00:07:11 The Transatlantic Network of Revolutionary Artists 00:11:28 Why Revolutionary Artwork Didn't Survive 00:14:13 Prince Demah & His Mother Daphny 00:21:21 How Art Patronage Worked in the 18th Century 00:24:01 Finding Prince Demah a Teacher in London 00:27:40 Life as a Black Artist in London 00:41:22 Prince Demah's Life in Revolutionary Boston 00:49:24 Robert Edge Pine: The English Artist Who Supported America 00:59:24 How Revolutionary Art Differs from Later Commemorative Art 01:04:55 What Artists Reveal About the Revolution 01:07:29 Closing Thoughts & Resources RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 084: How Historians Read Historical Sources🎧 Episode 106: The World of John Singleton Copley🎧 Episode 201: Art, Politics, and Everyday Life in Early America🎧 Episode 299: Colonial Virginia Portraits🎧 Episode 390: Objects of Revolution🎧 Episode 422: Plantation GoodsSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center.
0:04.8	A few years ago, learning about the forgotten meaning of the pursuit of happiness changed my life.
0:11.0	When the founders wrote that famous phrase in the Declaration of Independence,
0:14.5	they meant an ongoing commitment to self-improvement and lifelong learning.
0:19.4	This discovery inspired me to write a book, and in my
0:22.1	new podcast, I explore the founder's lives with the historians who know them best. Plus, filmmaker
0:27.9	Ken Byrne shares his daily practice of self-reflection. Join me for Pursuit, the Founders' Guide
0:34.2	to Happiness. Hello, this is Matt from the Explorers podcast.
0:43.7	I want to invite you to join me on the voyages and journeys of the most famous explorers
0:47.6	in the history of the world.
0:49.4	These are the thrilling and captivating stories of Vigelin, Shackleton, Lewis, and Clark,
0:54.1	and so many other
0:55.0	famous and not so famous adventures from throughout history. Go to Explor's Podcast.com or just look
1:01.0	us up on your podcast app. That's the Explorers Podcast. You're listening to an Airwave Media
1:08.5	podcast. The other reason that a lot of this does not survive is just
1:13.2	sort of the accidental havocs of history, which is everything from being lost in the sense that
1:20.6	they're destroyed by fire, two of the artists that I talk about in this book in a very weird
1:26.5	twist of fate, proving that history is always
1:28.4	stranger than fiction. Most of their surviving collected works not only go up in flames, but go
1:33.3	up in flames because they've been relocated to the same museum together. This is something that
1:37.8	happens to a lot of these works. Hello! Hello and welcome to episode 423 of Ben Franklin's World,
1:53.0	the podcast dedicated to helping you learn more about how the people and events of our early
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