Nearly 250 years after the American Revolution, our society is still in many ways governed by the Founding Fathers. But who were these men, and how did they live? In his latest book, In the Founders’ Footsteps, the author and artist Adam Van Doren ’84CC, ’89GSAPP explores the more personal side of these often enigmatic figures. Traveling from Maine to Georgia, Van Doren visits and paints thirty landmarks — homes, battlefields, monuments, and more — instrumental in the lives of the Founding Fathers, resulting in a contemplative and beautiful travelogue. His first stop is St. Nicholas Park in Harlem, where he captures Columbia College trustee Alexander Hamilton’s country estate. Hamilton Grange is notable for its transience: the building was moved once in 1889 and again in 2008. “It seemed fitting,” writes Van Doren, “that a man of such restless energy would own a house that has been re-located several times.”
