Washington+Resigning+His+Commission

Date: ca. 1841
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/XX/XX35_1a.jpg?itok=QbuNl1Nd width="243" height="319" link="@https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/washington-resigning-his-commission-19679"]] || Title: **Washington Resigning His Commission**

Artist: **Ferdinand Pettrich** Born: Dresden, Germany 1798 Died: Rome, Italy 1872 painted plaster

Dimensions: 86 x 48 1/2 x 36 3/8 in. (218.3 x 123.2 x 92.3 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of the artist

Accession: XX35 ||

George Washington refused to accept the extraordinary power Congress offered to him after his victory over the British, declaring "as the sword was the last resort for the preservation of our liberties, so it ought to be the first thing laid aside, when those liberties are firmly established." He resigned his military commission and became an ordinary citizen because he believed that only monarchies needed standing armies, chiefly to keep the people subdued. Citizen militias, organized at moments of crisis and quickly disbanded, represented the true nature of a democracy. Ferdinand Pettrich created this work when political power in the United States was being consolidated around the federal government. He may have felt that this historic moment in Washington’s life would remind a new generation of the nation's founding ideals, and of the dangers of too much power given to too few.
 * Exhibition Label: **

Some have asked about this sculpture, “Is it true that in 1841 the U.S. didn’t have a foundry large enough to cast this work, which is why it’s plaster painted to look like bronze rather than bronze itself?”
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Sculpture Curator Karen Lemmey offered this explanation: This is generally true. The larger story is that the first bronze monuments were not successfully cast in the U.S. until 1853. There were various attempts prior to this but nothing quite satisfactory. It wasn’t just a question of size but also specialization. Think how troublesome it was to cast the Liberty Bell which cracked anyway (admittedly much earlier than the period we are discussing here, but an interesting precursor). Foundries in America were best suited to casting cannons, bells, and meeting other industrial needs but were yet not fine enough to cast fine art. Pettrich was German and had trained in Italy and knew how far behind things were in the U.S. Had his monumental commission for Washington been fully realized, he might have proceeded to cast the work in Europe. Since there were so few bronzes (all imported) for his clients to see in the U.S. in anticipation of awarding him the commission, it is reasonable to surmise that Pettrich needed to offer this full-scale, faux-bronze plaster to give his reviewers an idea of what they were missing and what he could offer them.


 * Suggested Questions: **
 * How would you describe George Washington based on this statue?
 * How does this portrait of him compare to others you've seen (e.g. the dollar bill)?

George Washington Lesson Learning to Look Washington Resignation Speech Washington's Resignation - From the MD State Archives
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Artist Biography SAAM Collections Page
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