John Trumbull painted the famous Declaration of Independence scene often associated with America250.
Trumbull’s large oil painting, usually titled Declaration of Independence, depicts the drafting committee presenting the document to the Continental Congress. The scene is frequently mistaken for a literal record of the signing, but it primarily represents the presentation of the draft on June 28, 1776.
Trumbull began the painting in the late 1810s and completed it in 1819. He used portraits and other references to represent many of the people involved, though not every person shown was present in the room at the same time.
The painting hangs in the United States Capitol Rotunda and is also familiar from its appearance on the reverse of the U.S. two-dollar bill. Its dramatic composition has made it one of the most recognizable visual interpretations of the founding era.