John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence painting depicts 42 of the 56 signers.
The large oil painting, completed in 1818 and purchased by Congress in 1819, shows the five-member drafting committee presenting the Declaration’s draft to the Continental Congress. It does not actually show the signing of the final parchment, despite the common description attached to it.
Trumbull intended the work to commemorate the founding document and included many recognizable political figures. However, he could not obtain likenesses for every signer, so fourteen of the 56 signers do not appear. Some people shown in the painting also did not sign the Declaration, including John Dickinson.
The painting hangs in the United States Capitol Rotunda and has become one of the best-known visual symbols associated with the Declaration. Its historical moment is June 28, 1776, when the committee presented its draft, rather than July 4 adoption or the primarily August 2 signing. That distinction makes the painting’s subject more precise than its popular title suggests.