Archibald Willard

Archibald Willard grew up in Bedford, Ohio, and later moved to Wellington, where he worked as a wagon painter before serving in the 86th Ohio Infantry during the Civil War. He painted his most famous work, The Spirit of ’76, around 1875 in Wellington, inspired by a holiday parade through the town square. The painting was exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and became one of the most widely recognized images of American patriotism.