Sacred to Patriotism
"Sir, The last Post only, brought me…your polite & obliging favor of the 27th Ulto accompanied with two proof Prints elegantly executed (one on Sattin) engraved from your emblematical Picture, designed to perpetuate the idea of the American Revolution. For this instance of your kind attention to me, I pray you to accept my grateful acknowledgements. And was not the late President of the United States a conspicuous character in the Piece I might say more than would now become me of the fruitfulness of the Design." - George Washington to Dr. Charles Buxton, Mount Vernon, May 30, 1799
New York physician Charles Buxton designed this complex symbolic print to honor George Washington's patriotic leadership as Commander in Chief and first President of the United States. Buxton's design centers on the general, who stands atop the pedestal in New York's Bowling Green that held King George III's statue prior the Revolution. In his right hand, Washington offers the viewer a copy of his Farewell Address. The departing ships in the right distance reference the British evacuation from New York on November 25, 1783.