One of my favorite series of paintings at the National Gallery is the Voyage of Life by Thomas Cole. Here's a brief description of the series;
also a link to more information on the paintings:
The national Gallery on the Washington mall holds four paintings by Thomas Cole; they are called “The Voyage of Life.” This series of paintings illustrates the four stages of life: childhood, youth, manhood, and old age. The first painting portrays a baby in a boat that is being steered by an angel; the landscape is of a beautiful valley, however not all of it can be seen because of the mountains blocking it. The painting of youth shows the same man in the boat as a teenager. The boat is in a stream that is going through a lush valley and heading towards a palace in the sky; the angel has no backed away from the boat and onto the shore. In the third painting the man is now alone in the boat while the angel is in the sky watching. The skies have turned dark and the water has become rough as the boat heads out into the ocean. In the last painting the man is old and the angel has come down to guide him to heaven.
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