Portrait of George Washington

This image of Washington is based on the series of canvases begun by John Trumbull (1756-1843) in 1785 which depicted crucial events of the American War of Independence. In 1775, Trumbull served in the Continental Army as an aide-de-camp to Washington. He subsequently studied painting in London, and returned in 1789 to the newly United States with several uncompleted canvases. Of these, three required portrait sittings with Washington, and were completed by the First President's death. In combining the elements of contemporary history and portrait painting, Trumbull helped to create the extraordinary cult of Washington extant both in Washington's lifetime and well after his death in 1799.