The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
plate: 25 5/8 x 32 1/4 in. (65.1 x 81.9 cm) sheet: 27 1/4 x 36 1/4 in. (69.2 x 92.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Loring Andrews, 1888
Accession Number
88.1.1
Art Historical Context
Step into the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, where *The Declaration of Independence, July4, 1776* captivates with its grand scale and historical drama. This 1876, measuring an impressive 25⅝ × 32¼ inches on the plate, reproduces John Trumbull's iconic1819 painting housed in the U.S. Capitol. Trull, a Revolutionary War veteran and Neoclassical artist, depicted the presentation of the Declaration to the Continental Congress by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Roger Sherman—not the signing itself, as popularly imagined. Produced for America's centennial celebration,...
About the Artist
John Trumbull|Waterman Lilly Ormsby|Cole & Co., Brooklyn, New York · 1756–1843
John Trumbull, born on June 6, 1756, in Lebanon, Connecticut, to prominent Puritan descendants, grew up in a politically influential family as the son of Jonathan Trumbull, Connecticut's governor from 1769 to 1784, and Faith Robinson Trumbull. His brothers included Joseph, the Continental Army's first commissary general, and Jonathan Jr., Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. A childhood a...