‘1812: A Nation Emerges’

A National Portrait Gallery exhibition, ranging from oil paintings to sculpture to the emerging science of photography, explores the events and personalities of a war that helped define a young nation.

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Mather Brown's "Portrait of Major John Norton as Mohawk Chief Teyoninhokarawen," an oil on canvas, c. 1805. The tribal chief, born to a Cherokee father and a Scottish mother, was later adopted into the Mohawk tribe. He led Iroquois warriors into battle with U.S. forces at the Battle of Queenston Heights and others. His published journal offers a firsthand account of the War of 1812 and life among the Cherokees.

Yale Center for British Art/Paul Mellon Fund /

"Dying Tecumseh," a marble sculpture by Ferdinand Pettrich, carved in 1856. Tecumseh united several Native American tribes and allied with the British against the United States in the War of 1812; the confederacy he led surrendered to William Henry Harrison after the Battle of the Thames in 1813.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

"Perry's Victory on Lake Erie," an oil on canvas by Thomas Birch, circa 1814. Many works of the period celebrated American naval victories, which were among the nation's few military successes in a war marked by British troops' sacking and burning of the White House.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Gilbert Stuart's 1816 oil-on-wood portrait of Commodore Thomas Macdonough. Macdonough commanded American naval forces that defeated the British at the Battle of Lake Champlain.

National Gallery of Art

Gilbert Stuart's 1804 oil-on-canvas portrait of Dolley Madison, the wife of James Madison, president during the War of 1812.

White House Historical Association

"The Battle of New Orleans," an oil-on-canvas painted in 1856 by Dennis Malone Carter, depicts Andrew Jackson's victory over British forces seeking to seize the city and the territory that the United States gained in the Louisiana Purchase. The battle was fought before news reached the United States of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war.

/ The Historic New Orleans Collection

Charles Willson Peale's 1818 portrait of Henry Clay, who as House speaker and leader of the "War Hawks," was a pivotal figure in the U.S. decision to declare war on Britain. He helped arrange the appointment of William Henry Harrison to command the Army of the Northwest and was a member of the U.S. delegation that negotiated the war-ending Treaty of Ghent.

Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent/ Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection

Sir Thomas Lawrence's 1809-10 portrait of Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, better known as Lord Castlereagh. He was Britain's foreign secretary during the War of 1812 and the creator of the collective European security system brought into being at the Congress of Vienna.

/ National Portrait Gallery, London

"Forest Scene on the Tobihanna: Alleghany Mountains," a hand-colored aquatint by Karl Bodmer, a Swiss painter of the American West who was renowned for his paintings of Native Americans.

Rare Books Division, Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah

A portrait of Robert Ross, artist unknown. Ross was a British major general whose forces routed a hastily organized American militia at the Battle of Bladensburg and then moved into Washington, burning the White House and the Capitol in retaliation for American raids into Canada. He was killed by American snipers the following month during the Battle of Baltimore.

Private Collection; National Portrait Gallery

A red velvet dress owned by Dolley Madison, circa 1810-20. Legend has it that the dress was made from the red velvet curtains that Madison rescued from the White House — along with a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington — before the British burned it in 1814. After the destruction of the White House, she described the events: "Two hours before the enemy entered the city ... I sent out the silver (nearly all) and velvet curtains and General Washington's picture."

Greensboro Historical Museum, North Carolina / National Portrait Gallery

Gilbert Stuart's 1804 portrait of James Madison, president during the War of 1812.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Thomas Whitcombe's 1814 oil on canvas, "12 at Midnight; The Hibernia Attempting to Run the Comet Down," depicts a July 19, 1814, attack by the American privateer Comet against the Hibernia, a British merchantman. The Hibernia's crew beat off the attack in a nine-hour fight in which 12 of the 22 crew members were killed or wounded.

Mr. and Mrs. Drew Peslar; National Portrait Gallery

Rembrandt Peale's oil portrait, circa 1813, of William Henry Harrison, the future president who commanded U.S. forces in battles with the British and their Native American allies in the Northwest Territories.

Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mrs. Herbert Lee Pratt Jr.

"Margaret Bayard Smith," an oil on canvas, circa 1829, by Charles Bird King. Smith, who was born in 1778 and died in 1844, was an author whose literary fame came from a collection of letters and notebooks published in 1906 as "The First Forty Years of Washington Society." Her husband was a friend of Thomas Jefferson who founded the newspaper National Intelligencer when the federal government moved from Philadelphia to Washington.

Redwood Library & Athenaeum, Newport, R.I.

A daguerreotype of Paul Jennings by E.C. Perry, date unknown. Jennings, born in 1799, was James Madison's slave and manservant; he was part of Madison's household staff at the White House. He helped rescue Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington from the British burning of the White House. He was eventually freed from slavery by Daniel Webster, became an abolitionist and authored one of the earliest White House memoirs. His sons fought with the Union Army in the Civil War; he died in Northwest D.C. at the age of 75.

Sylvia Jennings Alexander

Rembrandt Peale's portrait of James Monroe, 1817-1825. Monroe was secretary of state and secretary of war under President James Madison before succeeding him as president.

James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library, Fredericksburg

"Georgetown and City of Washington," by George Beck, circa 1795.

Arader Galleries, Philadelphia

William Rush's plaster bust of Gen. Winfield Scott, who helped lead attempted U.S. invasions of Canada during the War of 1812 and later became the longest-serving general in American history in a 47-year career. A hero of the Mexican-American War, he devised the Anaconda Plan, the strategy used to defeat the Confederacy in the Civil War.

National Portrait Gallery

Charles Willson Peale's 1819 oil portrait of Andrew Jackson, commander of U.S. forces in the Battle of New Orleans and later, as the nation's seventh president, the architect of the brutal Indian removal policies.

Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Gilbert Stuart's 1803 portrait of Albert Gallatin, the Swiss-born ethnologist, politician, diplomat and member of Congress who was also the longest-serving Treasury secretary. He held that post from 1801 to May 1813 under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and helped arrange financing for the Louisiana Purchase.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gilbert Stuart's oil-on-mahogany-panel portrait of Thomas Jefferson, who, after his presidency, supported the War of 1812. As president, he began the naval expansion that paid off in the war.

Smithsonian Institution and Monticello

An oil on canvas by John Archibald Woodside, circa 1814, expressed a common American sentiment in the war as well as pride in U.S. naval forces, which won a series of battles against the Royal Navy.

Erik Arnesen

Featured Photo Galleries

Homeowner David Firth tries to beat back a brush fire heading towards his home at Bettas Road and Low Drive as wildfire burns Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in Cle Elum, Wash. The fire jumped the line they were trying to make but still stands after being sprayed with water trucks and further efforts to beat it back with the help of several neighbors volunteering. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Bettina Hansen) SEATTLE OUT, USA TODAY OUT, MAGAZINES OUT, TELEVISION OUT, NO SALES . MANDATORY CREDIT TO: BETTINA HANSEN/THE SEATTLE TIMES.

Residents evacuate as wildfires rage through the West

This year’s wildfires are more numerous and have gotten bigger than last year’s, an official says.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 16: Protesters gather outside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks is staying on August 16, 2012 in London, England. Mr Assange has been living inside Ecuador's London embassy since June 19, 2012 after requesting political asylum whilst facing extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Julian Assange granted political asylum by Ecuador

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted asylum on Thursday by Ecuador, raising the possibility of a diplomatic showdown between British...

Chase Culp of Houston checks his clown makeup before the performance of Circus Smirkus on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012 in Montpelier, Vt. Circus Smirkus, based in Greensboro, Vt., is an award-winning international youth circus founded to promote the skills, culture and traditions of the traveling circus.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

India Independence Day, Syrian air strikes, Western wildfires, plastination and more in the day in photos

News and feature images from around the world.

Cast member Charisma Carpenter poses at the premiere of 'The Expendables 2' at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California August 15, 2012. The movie opens in the U.S. on August 17. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)

Eye on entertainment

Charisma Carpenter, Chuck Norris, Lionel Richie, Joe Jonas, Nelly, Alice Cooper and other celebrities.

US President Barack Obama drinks a Guinness beer at The Dubliner pub on March 17, 2012 in Washington. Obama went to the bar to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Hoppy days are here again

President Obama is making clear his love for beer on the campaign trail as he attempts to ferment a coalition of the swilling.

Scanned from Post archive. Washington Senators baseball players Goose Goslin, Manush, Kukel. 9/21/1933. No other info. TWP Photo.

The last time Washington was this good . . .

The Nationals have had the best record in baseball in August, starting to erase memories hardened by decades of mediocrity. Here are clues to...

Montreal Washington, of Kansas City, pets the dog she adopted, Friday, Aug. 10, during 'Tackle Pet Homelessness' at the Kansas City animal shelter in Kansas City, Mo.. Washington plans on naming the pit bull, Alexandra. The shelter is at capacity and is offering a $25 adoption special for all dogs 25 pounds or more. For the month of August, all cats are 'name your own price' and kitten adoptions are $50. (AP Photo/The Kansas City Star, Allison Long)

Homeless and adopted dogs, sand kittens, snow leopards and more in animal views.

Amazing creatures from around the world.

LEWISBURG, WV - AUGUST 11: ( EDITORS NOTE: Image was created using the iPhone 4s with Snapseed's vintage filter) Two young boys sip a drink at the West Virginia State fair on August 11, 2012 in Lewisburg, West Virginia. People from across the region travel to the fair, which is celebrating its 88th year, and hosts various events including equestrian and livestock demonstrations along with a full compliment of carnival rides. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

iPhone snapshots at the West Virginia State Fair

An iPhone captures the fun at the West Virginia State Fair, in its 88th year. All images were created using the Snapseed photo-editing app&rsquo...

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