AMERICAN REVOLUTION. "CAMPBELL, Alexander" (attributed to). George Washington, Esqr. General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in America. London: C. Shepherd, 9 September 1775.
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AMERICAN REVOLUTION. "CAMPBELL, Alexander" (attributed to). George Washington, Esqr. General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in America. London: C. Shepherd, 9 September 1775.

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AMERICAN REVOLUTION. "CAMPBELL, Alexander" (attributed to). George Washington, Esqr. General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in America. London: C. Shepherd, 9 September 1775.

An early mezzotint portrait of the Commander-in-Chief, executed anonymously but credited to "Alexander Campbell," a fictitious 18th-century artist. Produced at a time when there was high demand for prints of the already legendary but portraiture-shy leader. In jest, Washington’s aide-de-camp reportedly sent a copy of one of Campbell's spurious portraits to Mrs Washington. The Commander replied: "Mrs. Washington desires I will thank you for the Picture sent her. Mr Campbell whom I never saw (to my knowledge) has made a very formidable figure of the Commander in Chief giving him a sufficient portion of Terror in his Countenance" (Manca). Hart 730; Joseph Manca George Washington’s Eye: Landscape, Architecture, and Design at Mount Vernon, pp.215-16.

Mezzotint (380 x 274mm), framed (laid down, upper margin trimmed to platemark, margins slightly yellowed, notes in pencil to lower margin).
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