The works in this exhibition convey the many transitions of the United States, which began as a dependent colony but soon grew to become a frontier nation, then a burgeoning industrial giant and finally a world power. These rarely exhibited works come from the New-York Historical Society, a museum that began collecting drawings and watercolors before any other public institution in the United States. Founded in 1804, it is the oldest museum in New York and has a premier collection of American art.