ticketsMember | Make a donation

Declaration of Independence

Engraver Asher Brown Durand American
After John Trumbull American
1820–23
Not on view
This engraving reproduces Trumbull's famous painting, now at the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven. Durand was commissioned by Trumbull to engrave the plate for $3,000. Engraved text below cites a copyright date of December 20th, 1820, but the work took Durand three years to complete, and was only published late in 1823. Trumbull admired Durand's ability, was influenced by the fact that he was a fellow American, but also appreciated his willingness to accept a fee less than half that demanded by the British engraver James Heath. On October 20, 1823, Trumbull wrote to the Marquis de Lafayette: "I have sent to...Paris...a proof impression...of a print which has been engraved here from my painting of the Declaration of Independence, by a young engraver, born in this vicinity, and now only twenty-six years old. This work is wholly American, even to the paper and printing, a circumstance which renders it popular here, and will make it a curiosity to you, who knew America when she had neither painters nor engravers, nor arts of any kind, except for those of stern utility." The painter Daniel Huntington, wrote of Durand's work, "he has preserved the likenesses with great fidelity, combining a free and vigorous use of the lines with a broad and rich effect of light and shade most attractive to the eye."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Declaration of Independence
  • Engraver: Asher Brown Durand (American, Jefferson, New Jersey 1796–1886 Maplewood, New Jersey)
  • Artist: After John Trumbull (American, Lebanon, Connecticut 1756–1843 New York)
  • Date: 1820–23
  • Medium: Etching and engraving; fifth state of six
  • Dimensions: Image: 20 1/16 × 30 3/16 in. (51 × 76.7 cm)
    Plate: 23 15/16 × 32 1/8 in. (60.8 × 81.6 cm)
    Sheet: 25 9/16 × 36 1/8 in. (65 × 91.8 cm)
    Frame: 35 × 45 in. (88.9 × 114.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Morrison H. Heckscher, 2022
  • Object Number: 2022.29
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Harem Girl Smoking a Pipe
Asher Brown Durand
William John Hennessy
ca. 1862
Sweethearts and Wives
Asher Brown Durand
A. R. Poole
1826
Sketchbook of Landscape and Figure Subjects, Asher Brown Durand American, Drawings in graphite on off-white wove paper, bound in a green cardboard cover, American
Sketchbook of Landscape and Figure Subjects
Asher Brown Durand
1796–1886
Proof of one side of a New York Merchants Banking Company 100 Dollar Bill, Asher Brown Durand American, Engraving; proof
Proof of one side of a New York Merchants Banking Company 100 Dollar Bill
Multiple artists/makers
1824–27
Proofs of Bank of New York One Dollar Bill and Two Dollar Bill, Asher Brown Durand American, Engraving; proof
Proofs of Bank of New York One Dollar Bill and Two Dollar Bill
Multiple artists/makers
1824–37

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.