One of the most famous American paintings shows Washington and his army crossing the Delaware River.
Painted in Dusseldorf, Germany, Washington Crossing the Delaware shows a bold General Washington navigating through the frozen river with his compatriots braving the elements on their way to victory at Trenton.
While the painting was in Germany, Leutze hoped that this brave episode in pursuit of American independence and republican rule would stir his fellow countrymen to more liberal reforms. In the fall of 1851, the painting was shipped to the United States where it wowed audiences in New York City and the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC. The New York Evening Mirror boldly called it “the grandest, most majestic, and most effective painting ever exhibited in America.”
Leutze went to great lengths to make his portrait accurate, but even his efforts still left many inaccuracies in place. Nevertheless, the 12’ 5” by 21’ 3” (3.8m x 6.5m) painting stirred the patriotic emotions of countless Americans who have seen the painting, which now is on display in the American Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Source: Washington Crossing the Delaware: Restoring an American Masterpiece. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011.