This volume of the series of systematic catalogues that describe the collections of the National Gallery of Art contains entries on paintings by trained artists who were born or worked in the United States in the 18th and early 19th century and whose earliest work in the collection was painted before 1800. Portraits predominate the 107 paintings in this volume, and the portraits collected by Thomas B. Clarke in the second and third decades of the 20th century form the nucleus of the Gallery’s holdings in 18th-century American paintings. The collection is notable particularly for the large number of works by Gilbert Stuart and John Singleton Copley. Each catalog entry documents the painting in regard to its subject, its ownership, and its technique and condition. The volume is arranged alphabetically by artist and then chronologically by date of work.