Sketch from the spot where Cornwallis’ Army laid down their arms
Date1834
Artist
John Gadsby Chapman
(American, 1808 - 1889)
Medium/TechniquePainting: oil on panel
Frame: wood, gesso, gilding, iron
DimensionsOverall (Framed): 8 7/8 in. × 11 3/4 in. × 1 3/4 in. (22.54 cm × 29.85 cm × 4.45 cm)
Credit LineAcquired through the generosity of Lucy S. Rhame and an anonymous donor, 2017
Conservation courtesy of The Founders, Washington Committee Endowment Fund
Object numberH-5540/A-B
DescriptionPainting: A horizontal, rectangular landscape painting of a cultivated, partially plowed field with the houses of Yorktown in the distance. The foreground is occupied by a man on a horse leading another horse with a plow on the right at the edge of the plowed field. A road emerges from the far left of the composition and extends to the center of the background, which is the edge of the town.Inscribed on back of panel in ink over cream/green paint: “View of York Town Virginia and of the spot where Cornwallis/ laid down his arms. It is exactly between the plough / and the bush in the picture and was taken on the spot by / J.G. Chapman in 1834. / J.K.P. / P. Kemble Paulding.”
Frame: Original gilded frame with complex molded profile of ovolos and cavettos. The frame is composed of two parts, a frame and a liner, assembled with mitered joints. The outside edges of the frame are painted yellow/brown; later pine struts running the height of the frame are attached to the outside edges.
Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.
1800-1820
![View of the North [Hudson] River (Morning)
Artist: William Winstanley
Oil on canvas
c. 1793](/internal/media/dispatcher/15741/thumbnail)
