Special Birthday Edition: Today in Art

Two artists born on the same day, June 6th is blessed!

Happy Birthday, John Trumbull! Known for his portraits and history paintings of the American Revolution, Trumbull was born in 1756 in Lebanon, Connecticut. After he graduated from Harvard College, he served in the Connecticut First Regiment in the beginning of the Revolution. In 1777, however, he began his career in painting. He studied in England with Benjamin West at the renowned Royal Academy of Arts, and he was also influenced by Copley. Trumbull completed his first history painting, The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, in 1786. Shortly after, he began the first composition of The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 (now housed at Yale University) after meeting with Thomas Jefferson in Paris. Trumbull also had the privilege to meet Jacques-Louis David while traveling throughout Europe.

Trumbull settled in New York City where he supported himself by painting a variety of portraits. He is known for fluid brushstrokes and subtle glazes. One of his most famous portraits of Alexander Hamilton graces the current $10 bill. For the next ten years, acting as John Jay's secretary, Trumbull negotiated "Jay's Treaty" in London, and he was commissioned to carry out a specific Article of the Treaty. His years of foreign service dampened his artistic career. However, his final (and arguably most important) commission occurred after the War of 1812 when the Washington Capitol had been torched. Trumbull completed four large paintings for the Great Rotunda in the Capitol Building. In 1826, The Declaration of Independence (a much larger rendition than the painting at Yale University), The Surrender of General Burgoyne, The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, and General George Washington Resigning His Commission to Congress were installed. That same year Trumbull was elected President of the American Academy of Fine Arts. He wrote an autobiography after he retired from his Presidency at the American Academy detailing his long career journey.

His journey ended after 87 years when Trumbull died in New York. John Trumbull remains one of the most powerful political and artistic voices in 19th-century America. In addition, his historical painting The Declaration of Independence (found in the Capitol Rotunda) was placed in American History textbooks, as well as, the back of the $2 bill and postage stamps.

The Death of General Warren ~ 1786

Death of General Montgomery ~ 1786

The Declaration of Independence

John Adams ~ 1783-83

Alexander Hamilton ~ 1806

The Declaration of Independence

"The great object of my wishes...is to take up the History of Our Country, and paint the principal Events particularly of the late War." - John Trumbull, 1785