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The Painter's Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution

  • May 5, 2026 6:00 PM

  • Historic Rock Ford

    881 Rockford Road
    Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17602
Ticket Price $5.72-$11.54 This event is not available
Description

Historic Rock Ford’s Untold Stories Lecture Series welcomes author Zara Anishanslin as she presents a lecture on her book “The Painter's Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution.” Artists played a crucial role in the American Revolution, focusing on three figures: Robert Edge Pine, Prince Demah, and Patience Wright. Her book argues that art was a powerful tool for forging revolutionary ideals, highlighting how these diverse artists—including a woman and an enslaved man—used paint, canvas, and wax to support the cause of liberty on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Copies of the author's book will be available for purchase and signing following the lecture.

This lecture will be held in the Langmuir Education Room on the first floor of the Rock Ford Barn. Admission is for the lecture only and does not include the Snyder Gallery or Hand Mansion.

About the presenter: Zara Anishanslin is Associate Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware and Director of its Museum Studies and Public Engagement Program. She is the author of the award-winning Portrait of a Woman in Silk: Hidden Histories of the British Atlantic World, creator and co-host of the history podcast “Thing 4 Things,” and has served as a historical consultant for the Philadelphia Art Museum as well as “Hamilton: The Exhibition.”

Date & Time

Tue, May 5, 2026 6:00 PM

Venue Details

Historic Rock Ford

881 Rockford Road
Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17602 Historic Rock Ford
Rock Ford Foundation

Historic Rock Ford is comprised of the circa 1794 General Edward Hand Mansion and the John J. Snyder, Jr. Gallery of Early Lancaster County Decorative Arts. Our historic site is situated on 33 acres of gardens, woods and grounds surrounded by Lancaster County Central Park located in the southeast corner of Lancaster City.  This remarkable estate offers visitors the opportunity to encounter the outstanding original late-Georgian style architecture of the Hand Mansion, to experience its rooms furnished in exquisite period style while, in the Snyder Gallery, to explore a nationally recognized collection of Lancaster County decorative arts dating from circa 1760 to 1820 including furniture, portraiture, long rifles, tall case clocks, silver, and much more. 


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