William Birch

Birch was already a very successful and highly regarding painter when he left London for America in the late 18th century. His well-known marine paintings led to quick fame in "the States', but his most important work is his first watercolor view of New York City.

American patrons of the arts embraced him as quickly as he embraced their flourishing new country. For Birch, the rapidly growing cities of New York and Philadelphia best showed the potential of this new country founded on the idea of liberty.