The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

John Trumbull|Waterman Lilly Ormsby|Cole & Co., Brooklyn, New York

1876 · Engraving · Drawings and Prints

Though restrained in feeling, this print describes a profound revolutionary moment. It affirms the right of the original thirteen American colonies to separate from Great Britain—an unprecedented challenge to royal authority. The title is slightly misleading since what we actually witness is the drafters of the Declaration of Independence—John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin—presenting the text to the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia on June 28, 1776, six days before ratification. Forty-two of the eventual sixty-two signers appear here portrayed from life. Based on Trumbull’s famous painting of 1786, the print was engraved to mark the centenary of the United States.

Artist

John Trumbull|Waterman Lilly Ormsby|Cole & Co., Brooklyn, New York

Date

1876

Medium

Engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of William Loring Andrews, 1888