The Speed Art Museum in Louisville premieres one of the most important collections of American art in the world. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art from the Yale University Art Gallery features the best American art from 1660 to 1900, presenting a glimpse into the history of this great nation from its pre-Revolutionary beginnings to the Gilded Age. Telling the tale of a young nation struggling to create its own identity culturally, politically and geographically both in itself and in the rest of the world, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness features more than 200 of America’s finest works. In the largest traveling exhibition ever presented by the Speed, this extraordinary show includes patriot-painter John Trumbull’s eight Revolutionary War scenes, which have never before left Yale University as a group. Highlighted treasures include Trumbull’s The Battle of Bunker’s Hill and The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Painted more than a decade after the events they depict, these masterpieces illustrate the reality of battle and the romantic hope of a new nation and it’s hopes and aspirations for a truly Democratic society. Other noted artists included are John Singleton Copley, Charles Willson Peale, Thomas Eakins and Winslow Homer, truly representing the best of American artists.

Exhibition support in Louisville provided by the Brown-Forman Corporation with additional support provided by PNC Bank, AT&T, The Real Yellow Pages, and Sons of the American Revolution Foundation. Tickets are $15. Discount pricing is available for groups of 10 or more people. For more information on discounts, call 502.634-2960 or e-mail tours@speedmuseum.org