Washington Crossing the Delaware

1851

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 760

This epic painting honors a critical turning point in the American colonists’ war against Great Britain. It was a great success in Leutze’s native Germany—given the country’s own revolutionary fervor of the period—as well as in the United States, where it quickly became an iconic image, frequently recast by later artists. Evoking patriotic feelings in some viewers, conflict and struggle in others, this unavoidable highlight of the American Wing continues to spark debates about political ideas. It is exhibited here in a reproduction of its original trophy-style frame, based on a photograph by Mathew B. Brady.

“Leutze wants to paint our better angels. He shows this democratic vision towards freedom—that it’s not just Washington alone.”
Scott Manning Stevens (Akwesasne Mohawk), cultural historian

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Washington Crossing the Delaware
Artist: Emanuel Leutze (American, Schwäbisch Gmünd 1816–1868 Washington, D.C.)
Date: 1851
Culture: American
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 149 x 255 in. (378.5 x 647.7 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of John Stewart Kennedy, 1897
Object Number: 97.34
Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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Sketch for a Life Saving Medal (from McGuire Scrapbook), Emanuel Leutze German American, Pen, ink, and graphite on thin off-white laid letterpress paper, American — Sketch for a Life Saving Medal (from McGuire Scrapbook)
Emanuel Leutze

Soldiers Fighting, Emanuel Leutze German American, Graphite on buff-colored wove paper with gilt edges, American — Soldiers Fighting
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Sketches: Cows; Two Female Portraits, One Crossed Out (from McGuire Scrapbook), Emanuel Leutze German American, Graphite, partially effaced with iron-gall ink, on off-white Bristol board, American — Sketches: Cows; Two Female Portraits, One Crossed Out (from McGuire Scrapbook)
Emanuel Leutze

The Last Drop (from McGuire Scrapbook), Emanuel Leutze German American, Iron gall ink and graphite on thin green wove letterpress paper, American — The Last Drop (from McGuire Scrapbook)
Emanuel Leutze

Girl with Rabbit (from McGuire Scrapbook), Emanuel Leutze German American, Graphite on off-white Bristol board, American — Girl with Rabbit (from McGuire Scrapbook)
Emanuel Leutze

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