Charles Willson Peale completed this miniature of George Washington as Commander in Chief for Martha Washington in August 1776. Because Washington was in New York fighting the British at the time, Peale modeled his likeness after a three-quarter-length portrait of the general he painted a few weeks earlier at John Hancock's request. During the Revolution, Martha Washington spent each winter at her husband's headquarters, returning to Mount Vernon as the spring campaigns began. When they were apart, this miniature - which Mrs. Washington could wear around her neck or hold in the palm of her hand - must have provided her great comfort.