[MANUSCRIPT RECEIPT]

[Trumbull, John]

Published by [N.p., but possibly London], 1794

About this Item

Single sheet, 3 x 7 1/4 inches, mounted on cardboard backing. Some very minor foxing, else near fine. Manuscript receipt in John Trumbull's neat script reading: "Paid by A. Poggi, for acc. of J. Trumbull. Febry 13th 1794. to J. Poole for Colours &c. £5.0.0. Sept 28th 1793. to T. Phillips for small copy of Portrait of Genl Washington. - £26.5.0 [underline for total] 31.5.0." Trumbull became friends with artist and dealer Antonio di Poggi in the 1780s, while studying painting in England under Benjamin West. Di Poggi acted as agent for Trumbull, locating suitable engravers to render his paintings into prints. This receipt provides a brief glimpse into the business relationship between the two artists. Hailed as the official painter of the Revolution, Trumbull studied painting and art in England and France. The youngest son of the governor of Connecticut, the elder John Trumbull very much wanted his son to go into law. Trumbull did study the law, but gladly joined the fight against the British when the Revolution broke out. He eventually served as Washington's second aide-de-campe, having been brought to the General's attention through some very accurate drawings he had made of British gun emplacements. He rose to the rank of colonel as a deputy adjutant- general, but resigned the commission he finally received because it was dated three months late, a slight his honor could not tolerate. He refused to return to the law, finding it quite distasteful, and chose instead to pursue his true passion, art, against his family's wishes. Though he was never particularly wealthy in this pursuit, he did achieve a certain amount of success in his own lifetime. Among his most famous works are those commissioned in 1817 by Congress to adorn the Capitol: "The Surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga," "The Surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown," "The Declaration of Independence," and "The Resignation of General Washington." DAB XIX, pp.11-15. Helen A. Cooper, JOHN TRUMBULL: THE HAND AND SPIRIT OF A PAINTER (Yale, 1982), pp.10-11. John Trumbull, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF COLONEL JOHN TRUMBULL (Yale, 1953). Seller Inventory # WRCAM40198

Bibliographic Details

Title: [MANUSCRIPT RECEIPT]

Publisher: [N.p., but possibly London]

Publication Date: 1794