George Washington after the Battle of Princeton

Status

On view

Label Text

Charles Willson Peale painted this portrait of George Washington for Elias Boudinot of New Jersey, a fellow officer and friend of Washington, President of the Continental Congress in 1782-1783, and trustee of Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey). It is based on Peale’s 1779 commission from the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, and is one of at least 18 replicas Peale executed between 1779 and 1781 depicting Washington at the Battle of Princeton. The battle, fought on January 3, 1777, marked the first time in open combat that American troops broke a British line. Washington himself rode at the head of his troops, in direct fire, seemingly invincible. Peale knew Washington’s leadership at Princeton well, as he served in the battle and saw fire at Princeton. Here, he portrayed the victorious general standing at ease with Princeton's Nassau Hall in the background. His stance and bearing express an unshakable confidence in America's cause.

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Date1780

Artist Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741 - 1827)

Subject George Washington (American, 1732 - 1799)

Geography Made - United States

Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas; gilt wood; glass

DimensionsOverall (Frame): 56 3/4 in. × 48 in. × 3 3/4 in. (144.15 cm × 121.92 cm × 9.53 cm) Overall (Sight): 49 1/4 in. × 42 in. (125.1 cm × 106.68 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Jane J. Boudinot, 1927 Conservation courtesy of The Founders, Washington Committee Endowment Fund

Object numberH-17

DescriptionVertical, rectangular, three-quarter-length portrait of George Washington in military uniform as commander in chief, his head and body turned slightly to the proper right as he looks to the proper left. He wears a navy blue coat with buff-colored facings, gold buttons and gold epaulettes decorated with three silver stars, with a buff-colored waistcoat and a white shirt ruffle. A bright blue silk sash is worn diagonally across his body from over his proper left shoulder. He stands in a contrapposto stance with his weight on his proper right leg. His proper left hand rests on the barrel of a cannon; his proper right arm is bent at the elbow and his (gloved) proper right hand holds a black tricorn hat at his hip. At Washington’s proper left, and facing toward the proper right, an officer in a navy blue coat with red collar and facings holds the bridle of a chestnut brown horse with a white star. A navy blue battle flag with a circle of 13 white stars flies just above their heads, and the tips of several bayonets appear between the figures. In the background at proper right, a dozen figures-- Continental soldiers guarding British soldiers -- march toward the center. Behind them are a group of six buildings, the central and largest of them representing Nassau Hall. Surrounding the buildings is a golden to orange glow; above them the sky appears blue with pink and gray clouds, becoming dark maroon-brown at the upper edges. A dead tree is painted at lower proper right foreground; just below it is the artist’s signature.

The canvas is glazed in a period, possibly original, gilt wood frame.

SignedSigned, dated and inscribed at lower right: "CWPeale pinx:t 1780 at Phi:a".
Published ReferencesCarol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2006), 85, cat. 19.

Lillian B. Miller, Ed., The Peale Family: Creation of a Legacy (New York: Published for The National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, by Abbeville Press, 1996), 21-23 and 130. (General Reference)

Lillian B. Miller, Ed., The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family (New Haven: Published for The National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, by Yale University Press, 1983), 1: 218-222. (General Reference)

John Hill Morgan and Mantle Fielding, The Life Portraits of Washington and Their Replicas (Lancaster, PA: Lancaster Press, 1931), 33, number 21. See 27-34, for listing of other replicas.

Gustavus A. Eisen, Portraits of Washington (New York: Robert Hamilton, 1932), 1: 350.

Arlene Katz Nichols, Likenesses & Lanskips: A Portrait of the Eighteenth Century (New York: Hirschl & Adler Galleries, 2002), 48-51. (General Reference)

Edgar P. Richardson, Brooke Hindle, and Lillian B. Miller, Charles Willson Peale and His World (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1983), 57. (General Reference)

Charles Coleman Sellers, Charles Willson Peale (New York: Scribner, 1969), 182. (General Reference)

Charles Coleman Sellers, "Portraits and Miniatures by Charles Willson Peale," Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 42, pt. 1 (1952): 225-34.

“Picture Awarded to Mount Vernon,” The Washington Evening Star, 16 June 1926.

“Boudinot Heirs Fight Bequest to Mount Vernon of Washington Portrait Valued at $50,000,” The New York Times, 7 January 1926.

“Washington Portrait and Lock of Hair are Left by Lawyer” The New York Tribune, 21 November 1921.

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