[AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT, SIGNED WITH INITIALS, IN WHICH JOHN TRUMBULL AGREES TO USE HIS PAINTING, "THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE," AS COLLATERAL FOR A LOAN]

Trumbull, John

Verlag: [New York], 1822

[1]p., docketed on verso. Quarto sheet. Old fold lines. Bottom third separated at fold. Minor wear. Good plus. A remarkable document written by American artist John Trumbull, utilizing his original painting, "The Declaration of Independence," as collateral to secure a loan from the Bank of New York. This document, addressed to Charles Wilkes as the cashier of the Bank of New York, reads in part: "Now therefore, being desirous to Secure him as far as is in my power against loss by the uncertainty of Life & prosperity, I do hereby hypothecate & pledge to him the sd. Charles Wilkes the Senate painting of the declaration of Independence now in the hands of Mr. [Asher Brown] Durand the Engraver and also the Copper plate which He is engraving from the Same as collateral Security for any Sum which he may hazard by any accident befalling me. And this pledge shall remain in full force until all and every Note or Notes which He may have endorsed for me shall be paid & Cancelled." Trumbull is referring to his original painting of this famous event, which was begun in Paris at the suggestion of Thomas Jefferson. Trumbull was later commissioned by the Congress to paint a twelve-by-eighteen- foot version based on this original. The larger painting was sold to Congress in 1819, so it is almost certainly the original smaller version that remained in Trumbull's possession (now at Yale University Art Gallery) that was being used as collateral for a loan. 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-camp, 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 he 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 distasteful, and chose instead to pursue his true passion, art, against his family's wishes. Though he was never 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." Charles Wilkes (1764-1833) was promoted to president of the Bank of New York in 1825, a position he held until his retirement in 1832. Engraver Asher B. Durand (1796-1886) made his name with his 1823 engraving of Trumbull's "Declaration." He turned to painting in the 1830s and helped to found the Hudson River School movement. The original "Declaration of Independence," redeemed from loan, was later part of Trumbull's founding gift to the Yale University Art Gallery. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers WRCAM49021

Bibliografische Details

Titel: [AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT, SIGNED WITH INITIALS, ...
Verlag: [New York]
Erscheinungsdatum: 1822