John Trumbull painted the famous Declaration of Independence scene displayed in the United States Capitol rotunda.
Trumbull’s oil painting was commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1819, and placed in the Capitol rotunda in 1826. It shows the Committee of Five presenting a draft of the Declaration to the Second Continental Congress.
The artwork is often called a painting of the signing, but that description is inaccurate. The scene depicts the draft presentation on June 28, 1776, rather than the later signing of the engrossed document, which took place mainly on August 2.
Trumbull included 42 of the Declaration’s 56 signers and also depicted some men who did not sign. His work became one of the most recognizable visual interpretations of the founding events celebrated by America250.