Archibald Willard
Minnie Willard
Archibald MacNeal Willard (August 22, 1836 – October 11, 1918) was an American painter who was born and raised in Bedford, Ohio. He was the son of the pastor of Bedford Baptist Church, Samuel Willard.[1][2]
Willard joined the 86th Ohio Infantry in 1863 and fought in the American Civil War. During this time, he painted several scenes from the war and forged a friendship with photographer James F. Ryder. Willard painted The Spirit of '76 in Wellington, Ohio after he saw a parade pass through the town square.[3] Willard also painted three murals in the main hall of the Fayette County courthouse in Washington Court House, Ohio: The Spirit of Electricity, The Spirit of Telegraphy, and The Spirit of the Mail.
Willard is buried in Wellington, Ohio at the Greenwood Cemetery.[4] There is a Willard Drive in Bedford and a Willard Avenue in nearby Garfield Heights named after him.
The Spirit of '76
The Spirit of '76 (aka Yankee Doodle)
Artist Archibald MacNeal Willard
Year circa 1875
Type oil
Dimensions 61 cm × 45 cm (24 in × 18 in)
Location Abbot Hall in Marblehead, Massachusetts[5]
Willard's most famous work is The Spirit of '76 (previously known as Yankee Doodle), which was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition. The original is displayed in Abbot Hall, Marblehead, Massachusetts, with several later variations painted by Willard exhibited around the country (including in the United States Department of State). Of note, he used his father, Samuel Willard, as the model for the middle character of the painting.[6] The painting originated from a sketch done by Willard, which included 3 men dancing and singing. He also has several other works of art, The blue Girl, Pluck, and others not as recognized.
In popular culture
The painting is referred to in a scene of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse Five where the protagonist Billy Pilgrim walks through a POW camp near Dresden. Billy is thus described: "Billy was carrying his little coat as though it were a lady's muff. It was wrapped around and around his hands. He was the central clown in an unconscious travesty of that famous oil painting, The Spirit of '76."
Archibald Willard at the age of forty, when he painted the “Spirit of ’76”
The Reverend Samuel Willard who posed for the central figure in the painting The Spirit of '76.
In July 1939 cover of Mickey Mouse Magazine featured a parody of the painting with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy substituting for the soldiers. The art would later be adapted in 1975 as part of the logo for America on Parade at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and also provided the inspiration for the parade's opening float.
On the comedy album Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America Volume One: The Early Years (1961), the track "Yankee Doodle Go Home (Spirit of '76)" features the "hip" fife player and younger drummer objecting to the "square" playing of the older drummer.
In the 1963 WWII film "The Great Escape" Hilts (Steve McQueen) and Hendley (James Garner) are seen celebrating the 4th of July in a German POW camp. They arise the camp in the morning to the playing of "Yankee Doodle" and are dressed very similar to the characters in the painting.
See The spirit of '76 , Henry Kelsey Devereux
References
"FOXNews.com - Ohio Town Develops Own 'Scent-Sibility' - Celebrity Gossip". Fox News. 2006-11-26. Archived from the original on 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
Caldwell, Janet (2012). Images of America: Bedford and Bedford Township. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 0738593699.
Arndt, Ursula; Giblin, James (2001). Fireworks, Picnics, and Flags: The Story of the 4th of July Symbols. New York: Clarion Books. pp. 41–43. ISBN 0-618-09654-X.
Vigil, Vicki Blum (2007). Cemeteries of Northeast Ohio: Stones, Symbols & Stories. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59851-025-6
"Marblehead's Spirit of 76 Painting". Spirit of 765. Town of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
Caldwell, Janet (2012). Images of America: Bedford and Bedford Township. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 0738593699. Ohio Historical Society Online
The Spirit of '76 Museum (Official Site)
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