Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Trumbull, John (1756-1843) to Charles Bulfinch

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02510 Author/Creator: Trumbull, John (1756-1843) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: November 28, 1826 Pagination: 1 p. + docket 25 x 21 cm + 1 engraving ; b&w ; 23.3 x 15.8 cm Order a Copy

Listing titles for Trumbull's four existing Revolutionary War paintings in the rotunda of the Capitol and four he proposed to create for the rotunda's empty recesses. The extant paintings depicted Independence Day, Saratoga, York Town, and Annapolis. Trumbull was not commissioned for the proposed paintings of Bunker Hill, Quebec, Trenton, and Princeton. He hoped these paintings would create a "series of the History of the Revolution." He also suggests engraving keys (to the people in the paintings) in the printed guide to the Capitol, rather than placing them directly under the paintings. Bulfinch became the Capitol's architect after Benjamin Latrobe resigned in 1817. One black and white bust engraving of Trumbull included.

Trumbull, John, 1756-1843
Bulfinch, Charles, 1763-1844

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