The 200th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie — among the most famous naval encounters of the War of 1812 and the first time a squadron of British ships had even been captured — will be commemorated with a special exhibition this fall at the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio.
“Perry’s Victory: The Battle of Lake Erie,” a free exhibition on display August 9-November 10 in Galleries 28 and 29, features paintings, prints, sculptures, artifacts, letters and music on loan from the museum’s permanent collection.
One of the most prominent works will be the scaled painting “Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie” (1814) by Thomas Birch. The painting depicts the battle just moments before the British squadron surrenders to the victorious Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (1785-1819) in the fall of 1813.
As part of the bicentennial observation, the Toledo Museum of Art secured the painting’s loan from the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Other highlights of the exhibit include the museum’s striking portrait “Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (1818-28)” by Gilbert and Jane Stuart and “Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie (1814-15),” hand engraved by Alexander Lawson (1773-1846) after a painting by Thomas Birch (pictured).
Admission to the museum is free. For more information, visit toledomuseum.org or call 419-255-8000.
Photo courtesy of Clements Library, University of Michigan
