Washington at Verplanck's Point New York, 1782, Reviewing the French Troops after the Victory at Yorktown
John Trumbull's portrayal of General Washington, graceful and relaxed, as the victorious commander-in-chief of the American forces is one of the most vivid portraits of Washington. In the background, Trumbull depicted the Continental army as it appeared in 1782 at the encampment of Verplanck's Point, New York, drawn up in formation to honor the French forces then returning from the successful siege of Yorktown a few months before. Trumbull presented the portrait to Mrs. Washington "in evidence of my profound and affectionate respect," and the Washingtons later displayed it in the large entertaining room, known as the "New Room," at Mount Vernon.
This painting is a modern copy of Trumbull's original. The original is now in the collection of Winterthur Museum.
Published ReferencesIngrid Cartwright and Janie Welker. Hoofbeats and Heartbeats: The Horse in American Art (Lexington, Kentucky: The Art Museum at the University of Kentucky, 2010), figure 9.
Hugh Howard, The Painter's Chair: George Washington and the Making of American Art (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2009), 134-136.
Edgar P. Richardson, American Paintings and Related Pictures in The Henry Francis Dupont Winterthur Museum (Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1986), 39-41.
Helen A. Cooper, ed. John Trumbull: The Hand and Spirit of A Painter (New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 1982), 101-102, 116, 118-119.
Irma B. Jaffe, John Trumbull: Patriot-Artist of The American Revolution (New York: New York Graphic Society, 1975), plate 9, 314-315.
Theodore Sizer, The Works of Colonel John Trumbull: Artist of the American Revolution (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967), 82, figs. 92 and 93.
