.png){kind=logo}
Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object name |
Painting |
Title |
Signers of the Constitution |
Artist or maker |
Thomas Pritchard Rossiter (1817-1871) |
Place of origin |
USA |
Physical description |
This oil on canvas painting depicts the culmination of the Convention of 1787 which met in Philadelphia on May 14th and adjourned on September 17th. The Constitution was ratified in July 1788. Rossiter was born too late to have witnessed the actual event. Painted in 1867, "Signing of the Constitution" was part of a movement of the late 18th and 19th centuries of historical paintings that expressed American nationalism. The imagery created between the American Revolution and the Civil War depicted the dignity, noble emotions, and heroic exploits of a young country and its leaders, especially, George Washington. Paintings, like "Signing of the Constitution" and more famously Emanuel Leutze's, "Washington Crossing the Delaware" (1851) helped America define the countries identity and uniqueness through the illustration of historic scenes. In this tradition, Rossiter relied on longstanding European artistic conventions to give the protagonists, George Washington, a heroic cast as the well revered father of the country. One sees Washington elevated above all other delegates, who have willingly come together to sign the Constitution, an act of unification. Behind Washington a "halo" or aura of light surrounds his head, created by the paint on the wall behind him. After viewing this large and grand piece of fine art one often feels they have seen an eyewitness account of this important historical event in American history. This painting is not so much important as a cultural artifact, but as a narrative. |
Past exhibit |
Valuable |
Current exhibit |
Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York History |
Catalogue number |
1960.01.001 |
Collection name |
Paintings and Sculpture |
Credit line |
Gift of John Schermerhorn Jacobus, 1960 |
People |
Adams, John Franklin, Benjamin Hamilton, Alexander Washington, George |
Subjects and places |
Philadelphia Pennsylvania |