John Trumbull painted the famous 1818 canvas Declaration of Independence, 1776. The large historical painting shows members of the Declaration’s drafting committee presenting their work to the Continental Congress.
Trumbull based the composition on the June 28, 1776, presentation of the draft rather than on the later formal signing ceremony. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston appear in the foreground as the committee presenting the document.
The painting contains 48 figures, but not every person shown signed the Declaration. Trumbull worked to include as many delegates as he could identify, and the picture became an influential visual summary of the founding event.
The original painting hangs in the rotunda of the United States Capitol. It is often mistaken for a literal snapshot of the signing, but it is a carefully composed historical scene. Its imagery frequently appears in educational and commemorative material connected with America250.