New York Welcomes a National Hero, 1789
The George Washington Memorial Association commissioned this etching fo r a portfolio in honor of the bicentennial of Washington’s birth. It depicts the triumphal entry into New York of our nation’s first president-elect. Washington had hoped for a subdued arrival in the city where his inauguration would take place, but he got the opposite. On April 23, 1789, a fleet of boats specially decorated for the occasion accompanied his barge across Newark Bay to Manhattan. In Robert Lawson’s congested recreation of the historic event, the man of the hour would be lost in the celebration were it not for his halo-like aura.
Gift of John Henry Smith ...
Gift of John Henry Smith ...
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1932
Etching on paper
25.2 x 37.8cm
36-17/3
Text © The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2018
Where you'll find this
Permanent collection