The works in this exhibition speak to the complexity and ambiguity of artistic identity in the British colonies of northeastern North America during the long 18th century and to the difficulty of defining the boundaries of American art. Separated from their English homeland by the vast Atlantic Ocean, colonists nevertheless participated in a dynamic economic and cultural network that connected them with the peoples of Europe, West Africa, and South America. As British North America grew increasingly prosperous, affluent new Americans emulated the refinement and gentility of their mother country by commissioning artists to create works that expressed both colonial desires for prestige and status and the hybridity of artistic production in early America. ​