William Paca, 1772

Oil on canvas; 86 1/2" x 56 3/4". Maryland State Art Collection, Annapolis, MD.

Signer, from Maryland, of the Declaration of Independence. After serving in both the first and second Continental Congresses, Paca went on to serve as Governor of Maryland for three one-year terms. In 1789, George Washington appointed him federal district court judge.

Next to Paca is a bust of Cicero; his Annapolis garden and summerhouse is in the background.

In a land where horsemanship was often men’s touchiest point of pride, Jefferson had to admit he never saw Washington’s like for grace and control in the saddle. A froniter runner and Indian wrestler — his friend George Mercer described his frame as padded with well-developed muscles — Washington had by 1774 refined mere energy down to a grace of least movement, the higher athleticism of the dance. And he danced well.

— Garry Wills

Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence (1978)