Peale painted this portrait for Elias Boudinot of New Jersey, a fellow officer and friend of George Washington. It is one of at least 25 replicas Peale executed between 1779 and 1781 depicting Washington at the Battle of Princeton. The battle, fought on January 3, 1777, marked the first time in open combat that American troops broke a British line. Washington himself rode at the head of his troops, in direct fire, seemingly invincible. Peale portrayed the victorious general standing at ease with Princeton's Nassau Hall in the background. His stance and bearing express an unshakable confidence in America's cause.
Bequest of Jane J. Boudinot, 1927 [H-17]