Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze was born in Germany and emigrated to America in 1825, but returned to Europe on several occasions to study. His famous historical paintings have been reproduced countless times, especially ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware’ (1851). His popular mural, ‘Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way’ (1862), is in the Capitol, Washington, DC. Leutze's paintings are known less for their artistic quality than for their patriotic emotionalism. His artworks firmly rank among the American national iconography.