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A32 FEATURE
Friday 17 November 2017
Newly discovered painting shows Washington’s wartime tent

By KRISTEN DE GROOT about the scene on the
Associated Press painting’s left side is Wash-
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — ington’s field headquar-
Philip Mead was online ters, including the telltale
late one night in May, look- tent.
ing for possible artifacts Most artwork from the war
from the American Revo- was afterward, so the im-
lution, when a painting up ages didn’t necessarily
for auction caught his eye depict actual events, the
and got his heart racing. historians said.
The chief historian at the “To have such a detailed
American Revolution Mu- depiction of the scene
seum had spied an un- painted by an eyewitness
signed watercolor from — and engineer, nonethe-
1782. It was a panorama less — from an age before
of an army encampment, photography is like having
and to his expert eye a Google Street View look
seemed to feature the only at a Revolutionary War en-
known wartime depiction campment,” Mead said.
of the tent George Wash- Although the painting isn’t
ington used as his com- signed, it mirrors a L’Enfant
mand center during the This photo shows a detail of a watercolor panorama of a Continental Army encampment that fea- panoramic painting from
Revolutionary War. tures the only known wartime depiction of George Washington’s headquarters tent, his command August 1782 of troops
The tent is the marquee ex- center throughout the war, in Philadelphia. at West Point, New York,
hibit at the museum, which Associated Press which was donated to
opened in April. “My heart leapt into my With only one other bidder, at the surrender of Charles- the Library of Congress by
And, thanks to Mead’s throat when I realized what they landed the painting ton and upon his release the Maryland family who
sharp eye, the museum this painting was,” easily, for $12,000. went back to serve George cared for L’Enfant at the
now owns the painting that Stephenson said. Once in hand, the mu- Washington for the remain- end of his life.
will anchor an exhibition They had to quickly line seum’s curatorial team der of the war. The style of brushwork, the
next year. Mead said the up donors to bid on the was able to conclude the The painting depicts hun- timeframe of both paint-
discovery seemed almost piece, which was going painting shows the Conti- dreds of military tents ar- ings and handwriting com-
“too good to be true.” up for auction just days nental Army’s fall encamp- rayed across a rolling parisons helped to attri-
“I’ve had this level of ex- after they spotted it. They ment at Verplanck’s Point, Hudson Valley landscape. bute the newly discovered
citement only a handful were concerned maybe New York, and was cre- Perched on a hilltop rising watercolor to L’Enfantq
of times in my 30 years of they weren’t the only peo- ated by Pierre L’Enfant, the
looking for this stuff,” Mead ple to spot the rare work, French-born engineer best
said. and they weren’t 100 per- known for laying out the

In this Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 photo conservator Corine McHugh, center, speaks with American
Revolution Museum’s Philip Mead, right, chief historian, along with Scott Stephenson, vice presi-
dent of collections, exhibitions and programming over a recently discovered painting offering a
glimpse into the Revolutionary War, in Philadelphia.
Associated Press
When Mead saw the cent sure the painting was nation’s capital.
painting, he immediate- exactly what they had Before he created the
ly emailed the image to hoped. blueprint for Washington, In this Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 photo American Revolution Muse-
Scott Stephenson, the mu- “Our motto is you must kiss D.C., L’Enfant served in the um’s Philip Mead, left, chief historian, along with Scott Stephen-
seum’s vice president of every frog in case it is a Continental Army. He was son, vice president of collections, exhibitions and programming
view a recently discovered painting offering a glimpse into the
collections, exhibitions and prince,” Stephenson said. wounded at the Siege of Revolutionary War, in Philadelphia.
programming. In this case, it was a prince. Savannah, taken prisoner Associated Press