Books and Manuscripts

Le Mire, Noel
Le General Washington Ne quid Detrimenti capiat Res publica...
Paris: Chez le Mire, 1780. Engraved full-length portrait of George Washington, by Noel Le Mire after the paintings by Jean-Baptiste Le Paon and Charles Willson Peale. Trimmed to plate mark and mounted to heavy paper. Print: 18 3/4 x 12 7/8 in. (476 x 327 mm); sheet: 22 x 16 5/16 in. (559 x 414 mm). In mat and in frame, 26 3/16 x 20 in. (665 x 508 mm). Hart 31c; Baker 21; Wick, pp.29-30

A scarce and early full-length engraved portrait of General George Washington, engraved by Frenchman Noel Le Mire after a painting by Jean-Baptiste Le Paon (the face and figure of Washington were further based on Charles Willson Peale's 1776 portrait of Washington). The elaborate scene shows Washington in military uniform outside of his headquarters, holding important documents such as the Declaration of Independence, and the Treaty of Alliance between the United States and France, and overlooking a receding landscape with marching Continental Army soldiers. In the foreground can been seen numerous torn documents and bills relating to British Parliament and King George III, while in the background Washington's enslaved valet Willaim "Billy" Lee is depicted attending to the General's horse. Le Mire subsequently produced a companion piece to this portrait depicting the Marquis de Lafayette.

Provenance
Property from a Private New Jersey Collection.