Boughton's Pilgrims Going to Church Analyzed

George Henry Boughton's 1867 painting Pilgrims Going to Church, held at the New York Historical Society, depicts a group of Puritan colonists traversing a snowy New England landscape. The figures appear uneasy, with several glancing sideways as if fearing an unseen threat, while armed men guard the rear. Boughton, born in England but raised in America, spent most of his career in England yet specialized in early American colonial scenes. The work reflects influences from the Pre-Raphaelites and Aesthetic Movement, and Boughton was acquainted with artists Edwin Austin Abbey and James Whistler. The painting shares thematic similarities with Gustave Courbet's Burial at Ornans. Boughton also produced works like The Scarlet Letter (1867) and The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers (1869), and frequently painted Victorian-era portraits.