Frederic Edwin Church, Our Banner in the Sky
Oil paint over lithograph on paper, laid down on cardboard

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Reflections for the Fourth of July

I remember encountering this image at the Fogg Art Museum (Harvard) — standing still in front of it, taking stock of it, letting it reach me, letting it touch me. Remembering it now I thought I’d share it for this Fourth of July 2026, 250 years on from the Declaration of Independence.

I like what the gallery text said: Within this vibrant scene of atmospheric flux, an opening within a roiling cloud layer reveals stars against a blue firmament. The barren tree in the foreground doubles as a pole for this celestial apparition of the “broad stripes and bright stars” of the U.S. flag. Following the rapid succession of political provocations that led to Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, Church channeled his belief in the divine righteousness of the Union cause into this patriotic visual spectacle.

The Union Forever . . . Rule of Law . . . our democratic ideals, may we hold them fast and carry them onward . . . remembering that those signing The Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause, to liberty, to freedom, to equality . . .

"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction,
is the first and only object of good government.”

— Thomas Jefferson

“The legitimate object of government is 'to do for the people what needs
to be done, but which they can not, by individual effort, do at all,
or do so well, for themselves'.”,

— Abraham Lincoln

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Wishing You Well
Sharon
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	J U L Y 4, 2 0 2 6 ____________________________________________________ Frederic Edwin Church, Our Banner in the Sky Oil paint over lithograph on paper, laid down on cardboard ____________________________________________________ Reflections for the Fourth of July I remember encountering this image at the Fogg Art Museum (Harvard) — standing still in front of it, taking stock of it, letting it reach me, letting it touch me. Remembering it now I thought I’d share it for this Fourth of July 2026, 250 years on from the Declaration of Independence. I like what the gallery text said: Within this vibrant scene of atmospheric flux, an opening within a roiling cloud layer reveals stars against a blue firmament. The barren tree in the foreground doubles as a pole for this celestial apparition of the “broad stripes and bright stars” of the U.S. flag. Following the rapid succession of political provocations that led to Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, Church channeled his belief in the divine righteousness of the Union cause into this patriotic visual spectacle. The Union Forever . . . Rule of Law . . . our democratic ideals, may we hold them fast and carry them onward . . . remembering that those signing The Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause, to liberty, to freedom, to equality . . . "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.” — Thomas Jefferson “The legitimate object of government is 'to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they can not, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, for themselves'.”, — Abraham Lincoln ____________________________________________________ Wishing You Well Sharon ____________________________________________________
	Photo © Image courtesy of the Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
	defining words to contemplate