Foreword
Acknowledgments
John Trumbull: A Founding Father of American Art
Benjamin West and John Trumbull
Conflicting Interpretations, Paradoxical Images
Preface
I am sometimes asked how I happened to write my book, John Trumbull; Patriot-Artist
of the American Revolution. Since the answer has everything to do with
the drawings in this exhibition, I would like to answer that question as a
preface to this catalogue.
To begin, I must first remember with great thanks my late colleague Professor
Andrew Myers, distinguished scholar in English literature, who brought me
to the Special Collections Room at Duane Library to show me the University's
collection of drawings by Trumbull. At that time, 1969 or '70, this collection
was one of the best kept secrets in the art world. Andy however knew these
drawings were important, and when I was invited to become a member of the
faculty as the University's first art historian, he realized that they could
at last get some public visibility. I went to work immediately and my account
of the drawings, fully illustrated, was published in the American Art Journal,
in Spring, 1971.
In my account I described how our drawing of Stephen Hopkins, one of the
Signers of the The Declaration of Independence, revealed that the man identified
as Stephen Hopkins in Trumbull's most famous painting, The Declaration
of Independence, was actually John Dickinson, and that Hopkins was misidentified
in the painting as George Clinton, who, although a member of the Continental
Congress, was unable to sign because of military duties that prevented him
from being in Philadelphia for the Signing.
This story was reported in The New York Times, where it caught the attention
of Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, particularly interested because
Hopkins had been the Colonial Governor of Rhode Island; Senator Pell read
the Hopkins story into the Congressional Record on 21 July 1971.
The Times story was also read by the editor-in-chief of the New York Graphic
Society, who then asked me to write a full-length art-historical biography
of Trumbull, and thus in the Fall of 1975, my book was published.
There is an addendum to this story. The office of the Governor of Rhode Island
set up a commission to investigate my discovery. After two years the commission
came to the conclusion that the Fordham University drawing was indeed the
correct image of Hopkins, and that therefore the portrait of Stephen Hopkins
that hung in the Governor's office, copied from the wrongly-identified portrait
(actually John Dickinson) had to be replaced with an authentic portrait, based
on our drawing. John Hagen was the artist chosen to paint the new portrait,
which now hangs appropriately in the place of the former, incorrect one.
Hearty congratulations to Daniel Favata for his curatorship of the exhibition
of these beautiful and significant drawings by a "Founding Father of American
Art."
Irma B. Jaffe
Professor (emerita) of Art History
Fordham University
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