Washington at Verplanck's Point | |
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Artist | John Trumbull |
Year | 1790 |
Medium | oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 76.5 cm× 51.1 cm(30 1/8 in× 20 1/8 in) |
Location | Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, Winterthur, Delaware, US |
Washington at Verplanck's Point is a full-length portrait in oil painted in 1790 by the American artist John Trumbull of General George Washington at Verplanck's Point on the North River in New York during the American Revolutionary War. [1] [2] The background depicts the September 14, 1782 review of Continental Army troops Washington staged there as an honor for the departing French commander Comte de Rochambeau and his army. [lower-alpha 1]
The painting was a gift from Trumbull to the president's wife, Martha Washington, and is now owned by the Winterthur Museum. Trumbull next received a commission from the City of New York and painted a much larger version, George Washington , with a new background, Evacuation Day of New York City, November 25, 1783, the return of Washington and the departure of British forces. It is on display in the Governor's Room of New York City Hall.
General George Washington is in full military uniform, a blue coat over buff waistcoat and pants. He is standing in front of his white horse, Blueskin, leaning on the saddle and holding the reins. Seen through the legs of the horse is a romanticized depiction of Washington's September 14, 1782 display of his Continental Army troops in honor of the Comte de Rochambeau, commander in chief of the French Expeditionary Force which had marched with him earlier to Yorktown, Virginia and, with the support of a French fleet lying offshore, helped force the October 19, 1781 surrender of British general Cornwallis and bring about a peace.
Upon Rochambeau's return north almost a full year later, [lower-alpha 2] Washington staged a formal review of his troops at their encampment Verplanck's Point on the North River (today's Hudson) by the Comte. It was an honor due "his Excellency" both for his aid during the war and generosity in distributing to the Continental force arms, equipment, and clothing provided by France and captured by them from the British at Yorktown, as well as a thanks to the nation of France for its military assistance in winning the Colonies their freedom. [5] Stony Point and the Hudson Highlands are also visible on the horizon. [6] [7]
The painting was a gift to Martha Washington by Trumbull. After her death, the portrait was bequeathed to her granddaughter, Elizabeth Parke Custis Law. It remained in the family until sold in 1961 to Henry Francis du Pont who then donated it to his museum in 1964. [2] In 1982, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association purchased a modern copy of the painting by Adrian Lamb for display at Mount Vernon. [8]
Martha Washington's grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, wrote in his Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington that:
The figure of Washington, as delineated by Colonel Trumbull, is the most perfect extant. So is the costume, the uniform of the staff in the war for Independence, being the ancient whig colors, blue and buff–a very splendid performance throughout ... [9]
In 1889, for the centennial celebration of the inauguration of Washington as the first president of the United States, the original portrait, then owned by Edmund Law Rogers, grandson of Elizabeth Parke Custis Law, and the second, the city hall version, were on display together at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City. [10]
In 1982, a silver coin with a 30 dollar value was issued for Antigua & Barbuda commemorating the 250th anniversary of Washington's birth with this image of him at Verplanck's Point on the reverse side. [11]
In 2017, Philip Mead, chief historian at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, and museum curators found that a watercolor panorama by Pierre Charles L'Enfant was of this 1782 encampment at Verplanck's Point and included Washington's canvas marquee tent. R. Scott Stephenson, director of curatorial affairs at the museum, has stated that although the tent is not seen in Trumbull's painting, "because of this new watercolor and the research we've done, we can tell it shows Washington standing right in front of the tent." [12]
In July, 1790, Trumbull received a commission from the corporation for the City of New York, led by Mayor Richard Varick, to paint the president's portrait. [13] [14]
The result, George Washington , was a scaling-up of Washington at Verplanck's Point to nearly four times its size. Also known as Washington and the Departure of the British Garrison from New York City, it is a (108 inches (270 cm) x 72 inches (180 cm)) full-length portrait in oil, generally similar in composition and character to its source but for its backdrop, which has been switched from Rochambeau's September 1782 review of the Continental Army to Evacuation Day, Washington's return to New York City upon the British forces' November 25, 1783 departure. [15]
This painting is located in the historic Governor's Room of New York City Hall. [16] [17]
Verplanck is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Cortlandt, Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,729. Both the hamlet and Verplanck's Point derive their name from the activities of the Verplanck family, established in New Amsterdam by Abraham Isaacsen Verplanck in the 1630s.
John Trumbull was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Revolution".
Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site, also called Hasbrouck House, is located in Newburgh, New York, United States, overlooking the Hudson River. George Washington lived there while he was in command of the Continental Army during the final year of the American Revolutionary War; it had the longest tenure as his headquarters of any place he had used.
George Washington Parke Custis was an American plantation owner, antiquarian, author, and playwright. His father John Parke Custis was a stepson of George Washington. He and his sister Eleanor grew up at Mount Vernon and in the Washington presidential household.
Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis, known as "Nelly", was a granddaughter of Martha Washington and a step-granddaughter of George Washington.
William Lee, also known as Billy or Will Lee, was an American slave and personal assistant of George Washington. He was the only one of Washington's slaves who was freed immediately by Washington's will. Because he served by Washington's side throughout the American Revolutionary War and was sometimes depicted next to Washington in paintings, Lee was one of the most publicized African-Americans of his time.
Edward Savage was an American portrait painter and engraver.
The Washington Family by Edward Savage is a life-sized group portrait of the Washington family, including U.S. President George Washington, First Lady Martha Washington, two of her grandchildren and a black servant, most likely an enslaved man whose identity was not recorded. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., presently displays the large painting.
Elizabeth (Eliza) Parke Custis Law was the eldest granddaughter of Martha Dandridge Washington and a step-grandchild of George Washington. She married Thomas Law, the youngest son of the late bishop of Carlisle, England, and an experienced administrator with the East India Company.
Washington's aides-de-camp during the American Revolutionary War were officers of the Continental Army appointed to serve on General George Washington's headquarters staff, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. The headquarters staff also included one military secretary, a full colonel.
The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis is an oil painting by John Trumbull. The painting, which was completed in 1820, now hangs in the rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Joseph Wright was an American portrait painter and sculptor. He painted life portraits of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, and was a designer of early U.S. coinage. Wright was President Washington's original choice for Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint, but died at age 37, before being confirmed to that position.
Blueskin was a gray horse ridden by George Washington. He was one of Washington's two primary mounts during the American Revolutionary War. The horse was a half-Arabian, sired by the stallion "Ranger", also known as "Lindsay's Arabian", said to have been obtained from the Sultan of Morocco. Blueskin was a gift to Washington from Colonel Benjamin Tasker Dulany of Maryland. Dulany married Elizabeth French, a ward of Washington's, who gave her away at her wedding to Dulany on February 10, 1773.
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 during the American Revolutionary War. General George Washington stands near his enslaved servant William Lee, overlooking the Hudson River in New York, with West Point 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 in London. He finished it before his arrest for high treason in November. The portrait, measuring 36 in × 28 in, is on view in Gallery 753 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Originally in the possession of the de Neufville family of the Netherlands, it was bequeathed to the museum by Charles Allen Munn in 1924.
General George Washington Resigning His Commission is a large-scale oil painting by American artist John Trumbull of General George Washington resigning his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783 to the Congress of the Confederation, then meeting in the Maryland State House at Annapolis, Maryland. 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., along with three other large-scale paintings by Trumbull about the American Revolutionary War.
General George Washington used a pair of campaign tents throughout much of the American Revolutionary War. In warm weather, he used one for dining with his officers and aides, and the other as his military office and sleeping quarters. Canvas panels and poles from both tents survive, and are currently owned by four separate historical organizations.
General George Washington at Trenton is a large full-length portrait in oil painted in 1792 by the American artist John Trumbull of General George Washington at Trenton, New Jersey, on the night of January 2, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War. This is the night after the Battle of the Assunpink Creek, 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, an 1806 gift of the Society of the Cincinnati in Connecticut. It was commissioned by the city of Charleston, South Carolina, but was rejected by the city, resulting in Trumbull painting another version.
Verplanck's Point lies at the southernmost end of the hamlet of Verplanck in the town of Cortlandt, New York in the upper northwest corner of Westchester County. Both derive their name from the activities of the Verplanck family, established in New Amsterdam by Abraham Isaacsen Verplanck in the 1630s.
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.
George Washington is a large full-length oil painted by American artist John Trumbull in 1790.
Fig.1 John Trumbull Washington at Verplanck's Point
George Washington (1790) by John Trumbull, which was completed before City Hall was built