Instructor: Charles Titus 

Date: April 16, 2026

Time: 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Location: 6th Street & Van Buren Ave, Charleston, IL 61920 (Rotary Room A&B)

Program Description:

“The Spirit of ‘76” is surely one of America’s most widely recognized works of art. Seen in classrooms, in libraries and even in Independence Day advertising flyers, it is perhaps as familiar as such patriotic canvases as Gilbert Stuart’s unfinished portrait of Washington or Emmanuel Leutze’s “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” Despite its widespread presence, however, the artist who painted it and the circumstances that produced it remain largely unknown. This engaging sixty-minute session recounts the story of artist Archibald Willard and his iconic painting.