Images
John Singleton Copley, Paul Revere, 1768
Grant Wood, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, 1931
Objectives
Students will understand that artists and writers depicting events from the past make deliberate choices about what facts to include or not, and how accurate to make their creations based upon the purposes they want their pieces to serve.
Focusing Statement
It is said that some people thought Grant Wood’s 1931 painting The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere poked fun at Revere’s exploits. However, Wood said that he was aiming to “save bits of American Folklore that are too good to lose.” But was the story of Paul Revere’s ride folklore? How much truth was there depicted in the painting and in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride”? In this lesson you will read Revere’s own words about his famous ride and compare it to the poem and the painting to discover the fact and fiction in each. You will discuss why the poet and artist might have added fiction to their pieces. This will involve briefly examining the times in which both men were living and thinking about our society’s need for heroes. You will also examine John Singleton Copley’s painting of Paul Revere for evidence of why Revere might have been considered an influential figure before his 1775 ride. Finally, you will choose a different scene from Revere’s deposition, illustrate that scene via a piece of art or poetry, and tie it to the time in which you are living.
Background Information
Grant Wood (1891-1942) is best known for the widely recognized painting, American Gothic, clearly one of America’s most iconic paintings. Born and raised in Iowa, Wood chose to primarily depict the landscapes and simple, hard-working farmers of the rural Midwest. Much of his work, completed during the Great Depression, lifted people’s spirits. He was classically taught in Chicago and studied the great art of Europe during four overseas trips he made in the 1920s. Wood rejected the prevailing European abstract approach to painting in favor of the clarity of the 15th c. Flemish master Jan van Eyck, which he adapted to his Midwestern subjects. In addition, Wood chose to illustrate at least two iconic American stories, in Parson Weems’ Fable, referring to young George Washington, and The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. Grant Wood’s American Regionalist style has been very popular, as it is easy to grasp and understand.
Examining Expressive Content
View the image of Grant Wood’s painting The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and consider the following:
- What do you see?
- What mood did Grant Wood set in his painting?
- How did he achieve it?
- What effect does looking down upon this scene create?
- How does he focus the viewer’s eye on the most important activity happening in the picture?
- What ties the scene together?
- Wood was not concerned with historical accuracy with this image. What evidence do you see of that? Why might he have chosen to not be historically accurate with his details?
Examine the image of Paul Revere painted by John Singleton Copley in 1768. Where does the artist focus your eye and how does he do that?
Copley commonly painted images of colonial America’s wealthy, leading citizens—people who did not make a living working with their hands. He made an exception here, given that Paul Revere was an artisan and was not considered to be wealthy, but Revere commissioned Copley to paint his portrait. This painting was created before Revere went on his famous ride.
- Why might Paul Revere have considered himself to be worthy of a Copley portrait?
- What did Copley, or possibly Revere, do to make Revere’s craft of silversmith appear to be a worthy art?
- What clues do you get from this painting about what Revere thought of himself? What did he want viewers to see?
- In most portraits from this time period male sitters were fully dressed in their best clothing, which included a coat, something around the neck, and sometimes a wig. What message did Revere want to give by dressing this way?