1754–1763
The Seven Years' War & the End of New France
France and Britain fought for control of North America in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). In 1759 British soldiers under General James Wolfe climbed cliffs near Quebec City and won a short battle on the Plains of Abraham, though both Wolfe and the French commander Montcalm were killed. France gave up Canada, and the map of North America changed.
Why artists painted it
Benjamin West's 'Death of General Wolfe' made the battle famous and started a trend of showing modern heroes in realistic clothes. Canadians and Americans still see this moment in his picture.
The Death of General Wolfe · Benjamin West, 1770
The Death of General Wolfe
Benjamin West · 1770
👁️ Painted at the time
General Wolfe dies at the moment of victory on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City in 1759, and West painted the scene in the clothes of his own day instead of Roman togas.
General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from the Tomahawk of a North American Indian
Benjamin West · 1764
👁️ Painted at the time
West shows a scene from the French and Indian War where a British general stops an attack on a wounded French officer.
A View of the Plundering and Burning of the City of Grimross
Thomas Davies · 1758
👁️ Painted at the time
British ships and soldiers burn an Acadian settlement on the Saint John River in 1758, during the Seven Years' War.
The Wounded Montcalm Is Brought Back to Quebec
Louis Bombled · 1900
🕰️ Painted about 140 years later
The French commander Montcalm, mortally wounded on the Plains of Abraham, is carried back into Quebec City on horseback in 1759.
Lord Clive Meeting Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey
Francis Hayman · 1760
👁️ Painted at the time
After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, Robert Clive of the East India Company meets Mir Jafar, the Indian ruler he helped put in power, in a scene from the global Seven Years' War.
The Battle of Kunersdorf, 1 August 1759
Alexander von Kotzebue · 1848
🕰️ Painted 85 years later
Frederick the Great of Prussia is badly defeated by the Russians and Austrians at the Battle of Kunersdorf on August 1, 1759, in the Seven Years' War, which was fought in Europe, India and North America.
The Capture of the Alcide and Lys near Louisbourg, 1755
Anonymous artist · 1755
👁️ Painted at the time
British warships capture the French ships Alcide and Lys off the coast of Canada in 1755, in the sea fight that helped start the Seven Years' War.
The Burning of the Prudent and Capture of the Bienfaisant at Louisbourg
Pierre-Charles Canot · 1771
👁️ Painted at the time
British sailors set fire to the French warship Prudent in the harbor of Louisbourg in 1758, when the British captured the fortress, a key step toward taking Quebec.
George Washington as a Virginia Colonel
Charles Willson Peale · 1772
👁️ Painted at the time
George Washington, in the red and blue uniform of a Virginia militia colonel, in a portrait painted in 1772 by Charles Willson Peale.
Colonel Bouquet and the Return of Captives, 1764
Benjamin West · 1766
👁️ Painted at the time
After Pontiac's War, Colonel Henry Bouquet forced the Native nations to hand back the settlers they had taken, and many of the captives, who had grown up with Native families, did not want to leave.
Fort Oswego
John Henry Walker · 1860
🕰️ Painted 97 years later
A British trading fort stands on the shore of Lake Ontario at Oswego, New York, which the French captured in 1756 early in the Seven Years' War.
The Plains of Abraham
Hervey Smythe · 1797
🕰️ Painted 34 years later
British boats land at the foot of the cliffs below Quebec in 1759, before the soldiers climbed up to the Plains of Abraham to fight the French.