Who painted The Spirit of '76, a famous American patriotic artwork linked to the 1876 centennial?

Archibald Willard painted The Spirit of '76.

Willard was an Ohio painter and Union Civil War veteran whose best-known work depicts three Revolutionary War-era figures marching together: a drummer boy, an older drummer, and a fife player. The painting was created around 1875 for the centennial of American independence.

The work was originally titled Yankee Doodle and was exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Its patriotic imagery became widely known through chromolithographic reproductions, which helped spread the composition far beyond the original canvas.

The original painting is displayed at Abbot Hall in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Because many later copies and variations exist, people sometimes mistake reproductions for the original. Willard himself produced several versions over the years.