Oil on walnut panel. Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA.
The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829 - 30 was called the last meeting of giants of the Revolutionary generation.
In this depiction, former president James Madison is addressing the chairman (seated left), former president James Monroe. Seated directly behind Madison is Chief Justice John Marshall.
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.