Who painted the best-known 1851 version of Washington Crossing the Delaware?

Emanuel Leutze painted the best-known 1851 version of Washington Crossing the Delaware.

Leutze was a German-born American history painter who created the image as a patriotic representation of George Washington’s 1776 military crossing. The painting shows Washington standing in a boat as Continental Army soldiers cross the Delaware River before the surprise attack at Trenton, New Jersey. The actual crossing occurred during the night of December 25–26, 1776.

The famous composition is not a literal photographic record. Leutze made artistic choices for dramatic and symbolic effect, including the boat’s appearance, the group of figures, and the flag shown in the scene. The Stars and Stripes did not yet exist in its later form during the 1776 crossing, making that detail anachronistic.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York owns the best-known surviving large version. A first version was destroyed during World War II after being held by the Kunsthalle Bremen. A third, smaller version is in the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.