''General George Washington at Trenton'' is a large full-length portrait in oil painted in 1792 by the American artist

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756 – November 10, 1843) was an American painter and military officer best known for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Revolut ...

of General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, on the night of January 2, 1777, 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. This is the night after the

Battle of the Assunpink Creek The Battle of the Assunpink Creek, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton, was a battle between Thirteen Colonies, American and Kingdom of Great Britain, British troops that took place in and around Trenton, New Jersey, on January 2, 1 ...

, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton, and before the decisive victory at the Battle of Princeton the next day. The artist considered this portrait "the best certainly of those which I painted." The portrait is on view at the Yale University Art Gallery in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, an 1806 gift of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

in Connecticut. It was commissioned by the city of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, but was rejected by the city, resulting in Trumbull painting another version.

Commission

The work was commissioned by the city of

, in 1792 to commemorate President Washington's visit there in May 1791 during his Southern Tour. Trumbull had visited Charleston earlier, in February 1791, to paint portraits of several leaders, including Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. Trumbull took the commission from William Loughton Smith, a representative of South Carolina and representing Charleston, ''con amore'' (with love), to paint Washington "in the most sublime moment ... the evening previous to the battle of Princeton".

Description

General George Washington is in full military uniform, a blue coat over buff waistcoat and pants. He holds a spyglass in his right hand and a sword in his left hand. Behind him is Blueskin, his spirited, light-colored horse, restrained by a groom. Further in the distance is the bridge over the Assunpink Creek and nearby mill, along with artillery and campfires.

Charleston version

Washington at the City of Charleston by John Trumbull

After Smith rejected the painting, Trumbull painted a similar, but different version for the city, entitled ''Washington at the City of Charleston''. It was now set at Charleston, with the city in the background, the Cooper River and boats in the middle ground, and local plants in the foreground. Washington is shown as Smith wanted, "calm, tranquil, peaceful." He wears gloves on both hands, holds a hat in his left hand which is shown resting on his sword, while holding a

walking stick A walking stick (also known as a walking cane, cane, walking staff, or staff) is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion acces ...

with his right hand. The painting is now on view in the Charleston City Hall.

Other versions

Trumbull painted a much smaller version ( x ), entitled ''George Washington before the Battle of Trenton'', –94, likely for his friend Charles Wilkes, a New York banker. It is similar to the original, but with changes in the background and a bay horse. It was bequested to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

in 1922 and is on view there. In 1794, Trumbull went to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

as secretary of legation for

John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

during the negotiations of the

Jay Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...

. He had made a small version of this portrait and later supervised its engraving by Thomas Cheesman, entitled ''George Washington'', in 1796. It was noted by historian Justin Winsor as the best engraving of Trumbull's paintings and was used as the basis for several other engravings. In 1845, William Warner Jr. engraved ''Gen. Washington''. Illman & Sons engraved a version ''George Washington - On the Great Occasion of our Presidential Election'' in 1858. Alfred Daggett engraved a version, ''Washington at Trenton, New Jersey, January 2nd, 1777'', that was published in ''Historical Collections of New Jersey, Past and Present'' by John W. Barber and

Henry Howe Henry Howe (October 11, 1816 – October 14, 1893) was an American author who wrote histories of several states in the United States. His most celebrated work is the three volume ''Historical Collections of Ohio''. Early life Henry Howe was bo ...

in 1868. An engraving entitled, ''General Washington at the Bridge Over the Assunpink Creek'', was published in the 1898 book, ''The Battles of Trenton and Princeton'', by historian William S. Stryker.

Critical reception

Trumbull described the thinking of Washington after seeing the superiority of the enemy at Trenton: Historian and painter William Dunlap after viewing it in the Trumbull Gallery at Yale said: "This is, in many respects, a fine picture, and painted in the artist's best days."

Gallery

File:George Washington before the Battle of Trenton by John Trumbull at The Met.jpg, ''George Washington before the Battle of Trenton'', by

, –94 File:George Washington, engraving by Cheesman, after Trumbull.jpg, ''George Washington'', engraving by Thomas Cheesman, 1796 File:Gen. Washington, engraving by Warner, after Trumbull.jpg, ''Gen. Washington'', on the battle field at Trenton, engraving by William Warner Jr., 1845 File:George Washington - On the Great Occasion of our Presidential Election, Trumbull, Illman.jpg, ''George Washington - On the Great Occasion of our Presidential Election'', engraved by Illman & Sons, 1858 File:General Washington at the Bridge Over the Assunpink Creek, engraving after Trumbull.jpg, ''General Washington at the Bridge Over the Assunpink Creek'', published by William S. Stryker, 1898 File:Washington on the Eve of the Battle of Princeton, Detroit Publishing Co.jpg, ''Washington on the Eve of the Battle of Princeton'', photo by Detroit Publishing Co., 1912

Legacy

The

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

has issued several

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). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

s of George Washington from the portrait detail in this painting. The first was issued in 1860 with a ninety-cent value. This stamp was revised and issued the next year in 1861. In 1931, the Battle of Yorktown commemorative with a two-cent value included this portrait. A stamp with a six-cent value was issued as part of the Washington Bicentennial stamps of 1932. Finally, the Army and Navy Commemorative Series included a stamp with a one-cent value in 1936. File:Washington 1860 Issue-90c.jpg, File:Washington 1861 Issue-90c.jpg, File:Yorktown 1931 Issue-2c.jpg, File:usps711.jpg, File:Washington Green2 Army Issue 1937-1c.jpg, On February 21, 1915, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' published a full-page image of the painting with the caption "''General Washington'', painted from life by his staff officer and friend, Col. John Trumbull", in the Picture section, the first time in

Rotogravure Rotogravure (or gravure for short) is a type of intaglio printing process, which involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a cylinder because, like offset printing and flexography, it u ...

References

External links

* Owner: Yale University Art Gallery * * {{George Washington 1792 paintings 18th-century portraits Portraits of George Washington Horses in art Cities in art New Jersey in the American Revolution Paintings about the American Revolution Paintings by John Trumbull

War paintings Oil on canvas paintings