Washington Crossing the Delaware

American artist Harrington G. Fitzgerald (1847-1930) painted this version of General George Washington’s famous 1776 crossing of the Delaware River about 100 years after the Revolutionary War. Instead of showing the actual crossing of the Delaware, Fitzgerald shows the Continental Army soldiers on the New Jersey side of the river as they regroup and prepare to march on Trenton. Fitzgerald spent much of his life working for a family-owned newspaper, but he found relief from the stresses of his professional life in painting. He studied painting under several notable American artists, including Thomas Eakins and John Singer Sargent. Fitzgerald is best known for his works depicting the landscape of Valley Forge.