A champion of America and the individual, Whitman contributed to the war through his literary talents and by nursing wounded soldiers.  Although he published no poetry during the Civil War, he wrote many poems about his war experiences for later editions of his legendary Leaves of Grass. Highlighting Whitman’s poems such as “Drum Taps,” the literature of Bold, Cautious, True helps viewers read the exhibition and the period as a whole.

With Whitman’s literary art, the work of artists such as Winslow Homer, Eastman Johnson, Sanford Robinson Gifford, Frederic Church, and John Frederick Kensett traces the emotional and political themes of the fratricidal war—secession, death, emancipation, and an uncertain future for a young country. Organized into five thematic sections, The Poetics of a House Divided, The Poetics of Service, The Wound Dresser, The Poetics of Endings and Beginnings, and Bold, Cautious, True, this exhibition is a landmark study of American arts and history.

Bold, Cautious, True was organized by the Dixon Gallery and Gardens with an 180- page catalogue written by Kevin Sharp, Director of the Dixon. After closing at the Dixon the exhibition will travel to the Katonah Museum of Art from October 26 through January 24, 2010.