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Accession #	75.188
Artist	Robert Walter Weir
Title	Embarkation of the Pilgrims
Date	1857
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	48 1/8 × 72 1/4 in., 133 lb. (122.2 × 183.5 cm, 60.33kg) frame: 60 1/2 x 84 1/2 x 6 3/8 in. (153.7 x 214.6 x 16.2 cm)
Signed	Signed lower left: "Rob.t W. Weir. / 1857."
Credit Line	A. Augustus Healy Fund and Healy Purchase Fund B
Location	Visible Storage: Case 16, Screen D (Paintings)

Curatorial Remarks: This work documents a tearful group of English Puritans departing from their temporary home in Holland aboard the Speedwell, a ship that was to accompany the Mayflower to New England. Robert Weir based the picture on documentary evidence—written accounts, histories, and costume records—to enhance its authenticity. Painted during a period plagued by discrimination and its violent wake, Embarkation of the Pilgrims reminded viewers that much of the United States was settled by Europeans seeking freedom from religious persecution.