''George Washington'', also entitled ''George Washington and William Lee'', is a full-length portrait in oil painted in 1780 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

stands near his enslaved servant William Lee, overlooking the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

in New York, with

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

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 (West painting), The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the ''Treaty of Paris ( ...

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 ...

. 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 d ...

in November. The portrait, measuring , is on view at 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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

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

History

Trumbull served in 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 ...

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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. In May 1780, he travelled to

Nantes, France Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

for business, but after this was unsuccessful, he 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 Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

and the death of Major

John André Major John André (May 2, 1750 – October 2, 1780) was a British Army officer who served as the head of Britain's intelligence operations during the American War for Independence. In September 1780, he negotiated with Continental Army offic ...

reached London. On November 20, Trumbull was arrested for high treason and then imprisoned at Tothill Fields Bridewell. 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 ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, 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 South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

'', commanded by Commodore Alexander Gillon. 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 Jack of the United States, naval jack of the United States from 1975 to 1976 and again from 2002 to 2019. It was authorized by the United States Navy, U.S. Navy and was flown from the jackstaff of commissioned vessels ...

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

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 painter, military officer, scientist, and naturalist. In 1775, inspired by the American Revolution, Peale moved from his native Maryland to Philadelphia, where he set ...

's portrait of Washington, which Trumbull had copied in Boston in 1778, and which is now in the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

. The composition shows influences from other paintings of military men with a groom and horse, back to

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

's painting ''

Charles I at the Hunt ''Charles I at the Hunt'', also known under its French title ''Le Roi à la chasse'', is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Charles I of England by Anthony van Dyck, dated to c. 1635, and now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. It depicts Charles in civilia ...

''. 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 (printmaking), 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. Mezzo ...

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

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

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

Gallery

File:Charles I of England.jpg, ''

'',

, c. 1635,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

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

, ,

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). Then the stamp is affixed 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 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 ...

. 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 Portraits of George Washington Horses in art New York (state) in the American Revolution Paintings about the American Revolution Paintings of African-Americans Paintings by John Trumbull Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Ships in art Rivers in art Flags in art Slavery in art