This exhibition examines the important patronage, influence, and support of the early artistic and cultural development of the American colonies and the new republic supplied by several generations of the Cadwalader family of Philadelphia. The family's founder in North America, John Cadwalader (1677/78-1734), immigrated to Philadelphia from Wales in 1697, and gained a prominent position within the city's influential Quaker establishment. His son, Dr. Thomas Cadwalader (1707/8-1779), and his grandsons, General John Cadwalader (1742-1786) and Colonel Lambert Cadwalader (1743-1823), later became leading figures within Philadelphia's intellectual and cultural circles and were influential during the struggle for independence from England. General John Cadwalader's son, Thomas, and his grandson, George, each distinguished themselves in civic causes, carrying the family's rich tradition of philanthropy and leadership into the nineteenth century.

The objects, paintings, and documents drawn together for this exhibition are documented to ownership within these earlier generations of the Cadwalader family in Philadelphia. As a group, they demonstrate the family's important artistic and cultural legacy, which helped define the character and tastes of the city's early society.