The Meeting of General Washington and Rochambeau (Primary Title)
George Washington and General Rochambeau calling on Cornwallis at Nelson House, Yorktown (Former Title)
Edward L. Henry, American, 1841 - 1919 (Artist)
In the 1870s, Henry found enormous success with vignettes of bygone eras. His meticulous genre scenes reveal the painter’s lifelong passion for historical architecture and antique furniture, artifacts, costumes, and carriages – items from his own collection often serving as props. Well positioned to ride the mounting surge of Colonial Revival fervor surrounding the nation’s centennial celebration, Henry added scenes from the Revolutionary War to his retrospective imagery.
This stagelike image pictures General George Washington, unmistakable at center in his blue uniform, paying a formal call on the newly surrendered Lord Charles Cornwallis, commander of the British forces at Yorktown. Washington is accompanied by his French counterpart, the comte de Rochambeau. The setting is imaginary, based on interior sketches that Henry made of a friend’s federal-era townhouse in Philadelphia. Inspiration for the placement of a tall clock on the stair landing – a mid-19th-century fashion rather than a colonial one – likely came from the popular 1848 poem “Old Clock on the Stairs” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.