Thomas Mifflin

Art Historical Context

This intimate portrait of Thomas Mifflin, painted by John Trumbull around 1790, captures a key figure from America’s founding era. Mifflin served as a Revolutionary War general, signer of the Constitution, and the first governor of Pennsylvania. shortly after the new nation formation, the work the period’s emphasis onating leaders who shaped young republic. Trumb, celebrated for his dramatic historical scenes of the Revolution, here turns to a more personal format suited to private remembrance. Measuring just a few inches across, the oil-on-mahogany miniature demonstrates the artist’s skill at conveying presence within a tiny scale. Such portable portraits were prized in the late eighteenth century, often exchanged as tokens of friendship or political alliance. Trumbull’s precise brushwork and restrained palette lend Mifflin a dignified, steady gaze that underscores his stature without overt grandeur. Housed today in the Metropolitan Museum’s American Wing, this small panel offers visitors a glimpse into the human side of early American leadership and Trumbull’s versatile talents beyond his large-scale canvases.

About the Artist

John Trumbull · 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...