''George Washington'', also entitled ''George Washington and William Lee'', is a full-length portrait in

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

painted in 1780 by the American artist John Trumbull during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

stands near his enslaved servant William Lee, overlooking the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

in New York, with

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

and ships in the background. Trumbull, who once served as an aide-de-camp to Washington, painted the picture from memory while studying under

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He finished it before his arrest for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

in November. The portrait, measuring , is on view in Gallery 753 at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Originally in the possession of the de Neufville family of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, it was bequeathed to the museum by Charles Allen Munn in 1924.

History

Trumbull served in the Continental Army as a second aide-de-camp to General Washington from July 27 to August 15, 1775. Later commissioned colonel, he resigned due to a dispute over his service time on February 22, 1777. After that, he resumed his career as a painter in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. In May 1780, he travelled to

Nantes, France Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabitan ...

for business, but after this was unsuccessful, went to London in July to study painting under Benjamin West. West's first question was whether Trumbull had brought any of his paintings to show his skill. Since he had no examples, he began by copying gallery paintings. Subsequently, Trumbull painted this portrait of Washington from memory and probably gave it to Leendert de Neufville, son of Jean de Neufville. On November 15, 1780, news of the treason of Benedict Arnold and the death of Major John André reached London. On November 20, Trumbull was arrested for high treason and then imprisoned at

Tothill Fields Bridewell Tothill Fields Bridewell (also known as Tothill Fields Prison and Westminster Bridewell) was a prison located in the Westminster area of central London between 1618 and 1884. It was named "Bridewell" after the Bridewell Palace, which during the ...

. Nearly seven months later, on June 12, 1781, he was released and ordered to leave the country within thirty days. On July 13, by then in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, he wrote to his father that he was staying at the home of de Neufville. On July 20, he wrote of his plans to return home aboard the frigate ''

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

'', commanded by Commodore

Alexander Gillon Alexander Gillon (August 13, 1741October 6, 1794) was an American merchant and seaman from Charleston, South Carolina. He represented South Carolina in the U.S. House in 1793 and 1794. Early life and family Gillon was born in 1741 in Rotter ...

. The voyage lasted six months, arriving at Boston in January 1782. The painting remained in the possession of the de Neufville family until 1890. It was sold through art dealers in London, and acquired by the New York art dealer Edward G. Kennedy before 1898. By 1908, the painting was in the collection of Charles Allen Munn, who bequeathed it to the

in 1924.

Description

Washington, in full military uniform, a blue coat over buff waistcoat and pants, is shown brightly lit in the center of a landscape, standing on a hill overlooking the Hudson River in New York. In the background, West Point is visible on the left, with a red and white striped banner flying, perhaps the

First Navy Jack The First Navy Jack was the naval jack of the United States from 1975 to 1976 and again from 2002 to 2019. It was authorized by the U.S. Navy and was flown from the jackstaff of commissioned vessels of the U.S. Navy while moored pierside or at an ...

. Washington holds a hat, sword, and scrolled document. A red turbaned

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

servant, usually identified as William "Billy" Lee, attends Washington's horse in the right foreground. Smoke rises from ships on the river in the lower right background. The likeness of Washington may be influenced by

Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...

's portrait of Washington, which Trumball had copied in Boston in 1778, and which is now in the Brooklyn Museum. The composition shows influences from other paintings of military men with a groom and horse, back to Anthony van Dyck's painting '' Charles I at the Hunt''. Some aspects, such as the reinforcement of outlines with black, echo the techniques of Benjamin West.

Other versions

British engraver and print publisher, Valentine Green, created a

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonal ...

version entitled ''General Washington''. It was published by appointment of de Neufville, January 15, 1781. The legend includes a

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the f ...

at the bottom showing a Native American holding the Washington family crest. In 1783, he created a half-length portrait, also entitled ''General Washington''. In 1782, Jacques Le Roy engraved a version entitled ''G. Washington'', with the image reversed.

Critical reception

Munn in his book, ''Three Types of Washington Portraits'', states: In the

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

catalogue, ''John Trumbull: The Hand and Spirit of a Painter'', the portrait is described:

Gallery

File:Charles I of England.jpg, '' Charles I at the Hunt'', Anthony van Dyck, c. 1635,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

File:Brooklyn Museum - George Washington - Charles Willson Peale - overall.jpg, ''George Washington'',

, , Brooklyn Museum File:General Washington LCCN2004666688.jpg, ''General Washington'', engraving by Valentine Green, 1781 File:General Washington, engraving by Green, after Trumbull, 1783.jpg, ''General Washington'', engraving by Valentine Green, 1783 File:G. Washington - J. Trumbull pinx. ; Ta. le Roy sculp. LCCN2004666690.jpg, ''G. Washington'', engraving by Jacques Le Roy, 1782

Legacy

A seven-cent

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

of Washington based on this painting, printed using black ink, was issued as part of the Washington Bicentennial stamps of 1932 by the United States Post Office. In 1925, the painting was featured on page one of ''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'', and described in the article "The Charles Allen Munn Bequest". File:Usps712.jpg,

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1780 paintings 18th-century portraits Black people in art George Washington in art Horses in art New York (state) in the American Revolution Paintings about the American Revolution Paintings by John Trumbull Portraits of politicians Paintings in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Ships in art