Letter from John Trumbull to Rufus King, New York, New York, 1821

In 1817, the U.S. Congress commissioned John Trumbull to paint four Revolutionary-era scenes for the Capitol. As Trumbull completed Declaration of Independence, he authorized Asher Durand to create engraving plates of the painting and sent a print to the Capitol Post Office. Trumbull hoped prominent, patriotic citizens, like Senator Rufus King, would approve of the engraver's talent and the print's artistic merit and purchase one.