John Trumbull painted the famous “Declaration of Independence” scene associated with America’s founding.
Trumbull’s large oil painting, usually called Declaration of Independence, depicts the drafting committee presenting a document to the Second Continental Congress. It was painted decades after the 1776 event and became one of the most recognizable visual interpretations of the founding.
The painting is often described as showing the signing of the Declaration, but that description is imprecise. Its main scene represents the presentation of the draft to Congress on June 28, 1776, rather than every signer placing a signature on July 4. Trumbull used historical research and portraits to represent many delegates.
The image has had an enormous afterlife because it appears on the reverse of the United States two-dollar bill and in art displayed in the United States Capitol. It therefore frequently appears in public history connected with America250.