Leutze, Emanuel 1816–68, American historical painter, b. Germany. In 1859 he settled in the United States, working in Washington, D.C., and New York City. His pictures are chiefly English and American historical episodes, memorable more for their patriotic than for their aesthetic value. The most famous example is Washington Crossing the Delaware (Metropolitan Mus.). For the Capitol at Washington, D. C., he painted a gigantic mural, Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way.

Used with permission. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2001 Columbia University Press

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