Peter F. Rothermel
Nescopeck, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
The noted painter was born in Nescopeck on July 8, 1812. His huge masterpiece, "Battle of Gettysburg," ordered by the State Legislature, is on display at the William Penn Memorial Museum, Harrisburg.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Born in Nescopeck on July 8, 1812, Peter F. Rothermel rose to become one of nineteenth-century Pennsylvania's most celebrated painters. His monumental canvas of the Battle of Gettysburg, commissioned by the State Legislature, remains among the most ambitious American history paintings of its era. The marker honors the small river town that produced an artist whose brush helped shape how a generation pictured the Civil War's defining battle.
Why it matters
It ties a Pennsylvania hometown to the visual memory of Gettysburg, showing how art helped Americans understand and commemorate the Civil War.
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Related people
- · Peter F. Rothermel
Themes & tags
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