Emanuel Leutze painted the best-known 1851 artistic depiction of George Washington crossing the Delaware River.
Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware shows Washington and Continental Army troops during the dangerous night crossing of December 25–26, 1776. The maneuver led to the surprise attack on Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey, on December 26.
The image is a dramatic historical painting rather than a literal snapshot. Leutze was a German-American artist working decades after the Revolutionary War, and the composition includes symbolic figures and deliberately theatrical details. Three versions of the painting were produced in 1851; the best-known version is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
The painting is often confused with works by John Trumbull, whose famous art includes Declaration of Independence scenes. Leutze’s painting became one of the most recognizable visual symbols of the Revolutionary era, making it especially relevant to America250 historical storytelling.