The American Colonial Revival movement culminated with the 1927 founding of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, a living history museum funded by Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd that adopted the motto, “That the future may learn from the past.” The well-equipped kitchen depicted here is from the Governor’s Palace, a building that burned in 1781 and was completely reconstructed on its original Williamsburg site from 1931 to 1934. Although Sheeler based his meticulous painting on a photograph of the modern building, it conveys an aura of historical authenticity.