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ANONYMOUS after Alex CAMPBELL
George Washington, Esqr.
1775. Mezzotint. In fair condition with the exception of extensive creases throughout the image. Skilfully re-backed.Trimmed at platemark, and under title on lower margin. Paper in lower right corner is skinned. Two creases running through center of image. Image size: 12 3/4 x 9 5/16 inches. Sheet size: 13 3/4 x 9 5/16 inches.
A fascinating example of this extremely early print of George Washington.
Public curiosity for prints of George Washington was not limited to America but spread to the English and European print shops, where an inquisitive audience clamored for a glimpse at the notorious American hero. Interest in this great man reached such a frenzy that European publishers, eager to please a demanding market, published fictitious portraits of the general before they had an accurate likeness. Thus the first English and European prints of Washington were completely invented, and varied in likeness as much with each other as they did with Washington's own countenance. London publishers, using the names C. Shepard, Thomas Hart, and John Morris, issued a series of mezzotints of the officers of the American Revolution, none of which are copied from accurate portraits but rather, were constructed on a visual formula and bear no resemblance to the individuals they claim to be representing. This stunning print of Washington is exactly one of these invented English portraits, and therefore one of the earliest prints of the General. In fact, upon closer study it has come to light that there is no record of the artist Alex Campbell and that Washington never sat for these portraits. This amazing print is a fascinating example of the ingenious and devious ploys of the eighteenth century print trade as well as an extremely early print of one of our greatest founding fathers.
Hart, Catalogue of Engraved Portraits of Washington 730; Wick, George Washington an American Icon 18-22; Cresswell, The American Revolution in Drawings and Prints 206
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#8931 $2,750.00 
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© 2002-2005 Donald A. Heald
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