''General George Washington Resigning His Commission'' is a large-scale oil painting by 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 ...

resigning his commission as commander-in-chief of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

on December 23, 1783 to the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

, then meeting in the Maryland State House at

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

. The painting was commissioned in 1817, started in 1822, finished in 1824, and is now on view in the United States Capitol rotunda in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, along with three other large-scale paintings by Trumbull about 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 ...

. Trumbull considered

George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief marked the end of Washington's military service in the American Revolutionary War and his return to civilian life at Mount Vernon. His voluntary action has been described as "one of the nat ...

to be "one of the highest moral lessons ever given to the world".

Commission

Congress commissioned Trumbull on January 27, 1817 to paint four Revolutionary War scenes to be displayed in the rotunda of the Capitol, including what would become the popular ''

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

'', and allocated $32,000 for the work. Trumbull then had a meeting with President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

to determine the final size and subjects. Trumbull initially thought that the paintings should be six feet high by nine feet long, but Madison stated that the vast size of the rotunda demanded full life-sized works. The military subjects selected were the ''

Surrender of General Burgoyne The ''Surrender of General Burgoyne'' is an oil painting by the American artist John Trumbull. The painting was completed in 1821 and hangs in the United States Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C. The painting depicts the surrender of Kingdom of ...

'' and the ''

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis The ''Surrender of Lord Cornwallis'' is an oil painting by John Trumbull. The painting, which was completed in 1820, now hangs in the United States Capitol rotunda, rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The painting depicts th ...

''. The civil subjects were the ''Declaration of Independence'' balanced by ''General George Washington Resigning His Commission''. Trumbull recommended the painting of George Washington resigning, and Madison responded, "I believe you are right; it was a glorious action".

Description

General George Washington is shown in full military uniform, illuminated in the middle of the painting as he addresses the Continental Congress. Standing behind him are his aides-de-camp Col. David Humphreys and Col. Benjamin Walker. Standing on the left are

President of the Continental Congress The president of the United States in Congress Assembled, known unofficially as the president of the Continental Congress and later as president of the Congress of the Confederation, was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the con ...

Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin (January 10, 1744January 20, 1800) was an American merchant, soldier, and politician from Pennsylvania, who is regarded as a Founding Father of the United States for his roles during and after the American Revolution. Mifflin sig ...

and Secretary of the Continental Congress

Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Founding Father of the United States and secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson prepared the Journals of the ...

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 Old Style, O.S. – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, who was the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the ...

and her three grandchildren are shown in the gallery on the right, although they were not actually in attendance. Future Presidents

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

, and

are shown among the delegates. Trumbull told Madison that he had used

artistic license Artistic license (and more general or contextually-specific, derivative terms such as creative license, poetic license, historical license, dramatic license, and narrative license) refers to deviation from fact or form for artistic purposes. It ...

to include him in the painting. Other congressional delegates include

Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry ( ; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death i ...

Hugh Williamson Hugh Williamson (December 5, 1735 – May 22, 1819) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, physician, and politician. He is best known as a Signature, signatory to the U.S. Constitution and for representing Nort ...

, Samuel Osgood, Eleazer McComb, George Partridge, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and Benjamin Hawkins. Also standing behind Washington are General William Smallwood, General Otho Holland Williams, Col. Samuel Smith, Col. John Eager Howard, and Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, spectators from Maryland, and Maryland delegate Charles Carroll with his two daughters. Trumbull used his 1792 portrait '' General George Washington at Trenton'' as the model for Washington in this work. He used several of his miniature portraits from 1790 to 1793 for the other people in attendance, including Thomas Mifflin, William Smallwood, and Martha Washington.

Other versions

Trumbull painted a smaller version () entitled ''The Resignation of General Washington, December 23, 1783'' (1824–1828) that is now 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 engraving from the central portion of the full-sized painting was used on the reverse of the $1,000 National Bank Note, Series 1875, and the $5,000 Federal Reserve Note, Series 1918.

Critical reception

Trumbull described the painting in the catalogue for his exhibited works at Yale University in 1835: Historian Matthew Moten wrote about this painting in the conclusion to his 2014 book on the American history of command in war:

Gallery

File:The Resignation of General Washington December 23 1783.jpeg, ''The Resignation of General Washington, December 23, 1783'',
by

, 1824–1828 File:Gen. Washington resigning his commission to congress at Annapolis, M. D., December 23rd, 1783 (72751).jpg, Key to the painting File:BEP-DELNOCE & GIRSCH-Washington Resigning his Commission (Trumbull).jpg, ''Washington Resigning His Commission''
$1,000 National Bank Note, Series 1875 File:5000b.jpg, ''Washington Resigning His Commission''
$5,000 Federal Reserve Note, Series 1918

References

External links

* Owner:

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

* Owner: Yale University Art Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington Resigning His Commission, General George Paintings by John Trumbull George Washington in art Paintings about the American Revolution 1824 paintings Paintings in the United States Capitol Books in art Elbridge Gerry