Genneral Waschingtonc. 1810Sheet: 9 5/8 x 8 " (24.4 x 20.3 cm)
Frame: 17 1/8 x 15 1/4 x 1 " (43.5 x 38.7 x 2.5 cm)Watercolor, gouache, ink, and metallic paint on paperGift of Ralph Esmerian2013.1.350Fraktur of General Washington on horseback with plumed hat in foreground. Low fence acts as demarcation between fore- and background. Very flat composition. Large tree at left and buildings in background with smoke emanating from the chimneys. Building directly behind Washington bears the words "CON GRESS HOUSE".1547613950P1.2001.235Artist unidentifiedDrawingsThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain. In ink, Gothic letters with pen and ink flourishes, URQ: Gennejal waschington und die stadt/metche nach seinem ramen er bauet iftUnited StatesSoutheastern PennsylvaniaWorks on PaperYoung America: A Folk Art History. Jean Lipman, Elizabeth V. Warren and Robert Bishop. New York: Hudson Hills Press in association with the Museum of American Folk Art, 1986, illustrated fig. 7.1, p.116.
At the invitation of William Penn, German immigrants had begun to settle in America by the seventeenth century. Their German-American descendants were among the forces organized to fight for independence against British tyranny. Known as the German Regiment, and formed from settlers in Maryland and Pennsylvania, they participated in major battles in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, sometimes pitted against soldiers from their homelands—Hessians who were conscripted to fight for Britain. This drawing, in the colorful ink-and-watercolor style associated with the Germanic tradition of illuminated documents known in America as fraktur, is probably based on one of the many images of George Washington mounted on horseback that proliferated after the war. It is inscribed in German "General Washington and the city that was built in his name," referring to the new capitol of Washington, DC, which was established in 1791. The English words "Congress House" further appear on the facade of a building that bears features of Philadelphia’s Carpenters’ Hall and Independence Hall—sites of the First and Second Continental Congresses. In this testament to the formal installation of the newly formed government in Washington, the artist expresses his pride in Philadelphia’s pivotal role by conflating the removal of Congress from that city to the new capitol and the establishment of Congress on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Genneral Waschington," exhibition copy for American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2020. German Americans were among the forces organized to fight for independence against British tyranny. Known as the German Regiment and formed from settlers in Maryland and Pennsylvania, they participated in major battles in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. This drawing by an unidentified artist is in the colorful ink-and-watercolor style associated with the Old World tradition of Germanic illuminated documents known in America as fraktur. It is probably based on one of the many images of George Washington mounted on horseback that proliferated after the war, testifying to the president as a military leader and the unifying symbol of the new nation. By inscribing in German “George Washington and the city that was built in his name” and the English words “Congress House” on the facade of a building that resembles both Carpenters’ Hall and Independence Hall—sites of the First and Second Continental Congresses—the artist conflates the removal of government from Pennsylvania to the new capitol of Washington, DC, and the establishment of Congress on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Genneral Waschington,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgP1.2001.23518051815 2013 1 35
At the invitation of William Penn, German immigrants had begun to settle in America by the seventeenth century. Their German-American descendants were among the forces organized to fight for independence against British tyranny. Known as the German Regiment, and formed from settlers in Maryland and Pennsylvania, they participated in major battles in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, sometimes pitted against soldiers from their homelands—Hessians who were conscripted to fight for Britain. This drawing, in the colorful ink-and-watercolor style associated with the Germanic tradition of illuminated documents known in America as fraktur, is probably based on one of the many images of George Washington mounted on horseback that proliferated after the war. It is inscribed in German "General Washington and the city that was built in his name," referring to the new capitol of Washington, DC, which was established in 1791. The English words "Congress House" further appear on the facade of a building that bears features of Philadelphia’s Carpenters’ Hall and Independence Hall—sites of the First and Second Continental Congresses. In this testament to the formal installation of the newly formed government in Washington, the artist expresses his pride in Philadelphia’s pivotal role by conflating the removal of Congress from that city to the new capitol and the establishment of Congress on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Genneral Waschington," exhibition copy for American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2020. German Americans were among the forces organized to fight for independence against British tyranny. Known as the German Regiment and formed from settlers in Maryland and Pennsylvania, they participated in major battles in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. This drawing by an unidentified artist is in the colorful ink-and-watercolor style associated with the Old World tradition of Germanic illuminated documents known in America as fraktur. It is probably based on one of the many images of George Washington mounted on horseback that proliferated after the war, testifying to the president as a military leader and the unifying symbol of the new nation. By inscribing in German “George Washington and the city that was built in his name” and the English words “Congress House” on the facade of a building that resembles both Carpenters’ Hall and Independence Hall—sites of the First and Second Continental Congresses—the artist conflates the removal of government from Pennsylvania to the new capitol of Washington, DC, and the establishment of Congress on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Genneral Waschington,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org