Sepulchre of Washington
After
Charles Watson
(British, 1714-1757)
Medium/TechniqueInk on paper
DimensionsOverall (H x W x D): 15 1/4 in. × 22 1/8 in. (38.74 cm × 56.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Avis and Rockwell Gardiner, 1968
Object numberEV-2713
DescriptionHorizontal, rectangular sheet containing a block of text titled “Sepulchre of Washington.” For full text, see marks.MarkingsPrinted in center of page: “SEPULCHRE OF WASHINGTON. / FROM A DRAWING MADE ON THE SPOT BY CAPTAIN WATSON OF THE BRITISH NAVY. / A PAINTER’S license has been taken in regard to the number and size of the trees with which the hillock is covered, by anticipating what a few years will probably bring about. This rude and decaying tomb of the most pure and faultless of patriots has long been the subject of reproach of countrymen. “Shall any future patriot,” it has been asked, “hope to have his memory perpetuated while Washington lie neglected. Not a stone tells the stranger where the hero is laid. No proud column declares that his country is grateful. If but an infant perish, even before its smiles have touched a parents heart, a parent’s love marks with some honor the earth that covers it. ‘Tis the last tribute which the humblest pay to the most humble.” The true monument however of the patriot is his country. “Si quaeris monumentum circum - with equal propriety might be said of Washington; if you would seek his monument look at the country he served, at the republican institutions he loved and fostered, and at the humble farm to which he retired when ambition had no influence and power no charms.”
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c. 1796
1700-1800
1700-1800
c. 1790-1797
c. 1789-1854
