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Turning point
March/April 2005
General George Washington became such a hero to Americans during the Revolutionary War that numerous soldiers and civilians urged him to retain his commission as commander-in-chief and become the nation's first monarch. But, as depicted in this detail of The Resignation of General Washington's Commission by John Trumbull, Washington declined the opportunity to fuse military and political power. Trumbull, the preeminent artist of the American Revolution, called this act "one of the highest moral lessons given to the world." The chair and cloak he placed just behind Washington symbolize the throne and robe that would have been his as king. Trumbull completed the painting in 1828; it is now in the Trumbull Collection of the Yale Art Gallery.
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