Washington's Farewell to the Officers of His Army
Currier & Ives, American, 1857 - 1907
copyright 1876
Hand colored lithograph on paper
Image: 8 13/16 × 12 3/16 in. (22.4 × 30.9 cm)
Overall: 12 × 14 1/4 in. (30.5 × 36.2 cm)
Frame: 14 7/16 × 16 7/8 in. (36.6 × 42.9 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College
2006.23.1
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Research Area
On view
Inscriptions
Dated, in ink, lower center margin: Copyright, 1876 by Currier & Ives, N.Y.; titled and inscribed, in ink, lower center margin: WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL TO THE OFFICERNS OF HIS ARMY. / At the old Tavern, corner Broad and Pearl Sts. New York, Dec. 4th. [th is superscript above period] 1783. / Entering the Room where they were awaiting him, Washington said; "With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you." Knox turned and grasped his / hand, and while tears flowed from the eyes of both, the Commander-in-chief kissed him; this he did to each of his Officers. The scene was one of great tenderness. Marshall's Life of Washington. [Marshall's Life of Washington in italics]; printed, in ink, lower left margin: PUBLISHED BY CURRIER & IVES; printed, in ink, lower right margin: 125 NASSAU ST. NEW YORK
Label
Shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which recognized the United States as a sovereign nation, George Washington resigned from the Continental Army in 1783. This print imagines the scene, featuring a regal Washington among his forlorn generals, to whom he announces his departure. The sentimental image glorifies Washington, reiterating his status as a hero beyond compare. Taller and larger than the rest of the men in the print, he stands apart. The popular publisher Currier and Ives issued this inexpensive print on the one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, looking back to the Revolution as a moment of honor and leadership in American history.
From the 2025-26 exhibition Revolution Reconsidered: History, Myth, and Propaganda, curated by Michael W. Hartman (Jonathan Little Cohen Curator of American Art), Haely Chang (Jane and Raphael Bernstein Associate Curator of East Asian Art), Elizabeth Rice Mattison (Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art), Ashley B. Offill (Curator of Collections), and Evonne Fuselier (Hood Museum Board of Advisors Mutual Learning Fellow)
Course History
WRIT 5, America's Founding Fathers: Why They Still Matter, Marlene Heck, Winter 2015
Writing 5.20, Foundations of Dartmouth: Samson Occom, Edward Mitchell, and the History and Cultures of Native American, African American, and "Minority" Students at Dartmouth College, Doug Moody 1, Fall 2025
Exhibition History
Revolution Reconsidered: History, Myth, and Propaganda, Harteveldt Family Gallery and Owen Robertson Cheatham Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 18, 2025 - August 8, 2026.
Provenance
Dick's House, Dartmouth College; transferred to present colllection, 2006.
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