[Washington, George] "George Washington at the Battle of Trenton," c. 1800, After John Trumbull, Oil on paneled and cradled board, 25½ x 35 in., attributed to Adolph Ulrick Wertmuller. In gold-gilt frame, 34 x 45 in. This is a copy of the celebrated portrait of Washington by John Trumbull, commissioned by the city of Charleston, South Carolina in 1792. Washington is portrayed heroically as the Commander-in-Chief of American revolutionary forces; in fact, the citizens of Charleston thought the general was portrayed too heroically and refused to pay for the painting. Trumbull kept it until 1806 when members of the Society of the Cincinnati in Connecticut gave $500 to Yale University to purchase it.
It is believed that this painting was acquired in Sweden by Ira Nelson Morris (1875-1942) while serving as minister plenipotentiary to Sweden during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. Wertmuller (1751-1811) was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He studied in Stockholm, Rome, and Paris and was elected as a member of the Royal Academies of Sculpture and Painting in Paris and Stockholm. As the first court painter to King Gustaff III of Sweden, he was commissioned to paint a portrait of Marie Antoinette (now in the Nationalmuseum at Stockholm). In 1787 he painted "Danaê and the Shower of Gold," his most famous picture. He came to Philadelphia in May 1794 and Washington is said to have given him a single sitting for the portrait which was engraved by H.B. Hall for Irving's
Life of Washington. Wertmuller returned to Stockholm in 1796 to settle personal and financial affairs and stayed until 1800, when he moved back to America and married Betsey Henderson, granddaughter of the Swedish painter Gustavus Hesselius (1682-1755). Wertmuller became an American citizen in 1802 and enjoyed life as a farmer on a farm along the Delaware River at Naamann's Creek, 20 miles south of Philadelphia. Ira Nelson Morris; Parke-Bernet Galleries Inc., New York, Jan. 12, 1963, lot 156; Sotheby's New York, June 19, 1981, lot 22; Christie's, June 16, 1999, lot 180, cost was $52,900 + $8,000 for frame.
Estimated Value $35,000 - 45,000
The Claude Harkins Collection of Washingtonia and Other Historical Highlights
