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.
Marquis de Lafayette
by Charles Peale Polk (1767—1822)
Oil on canvas. Stratford Hall, Home of the Lees of Virginia, Stratford, VA.
by Charles Willson Peale (1741—1827)
Oil on canvas; 93" x 64". Annapolis Complex Collection (in the old Senate Chamber at Maryland State House), Annapolis, MD.
by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741—1828)
Cast when Marquis de Lafayette was 28.
by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741—1828)
Based on the life mask cast by Houdon in 1785.
by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741—1828)
Marble. State Artwork Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA.
by William Rush (1756—1833)
Bronze; H: 60 m.; W: 47 m.; D: 26 m. Musée franco-américain du château de Blérancourt, Picardy, France.
by William Rush (1756—1833)
Terra cotta; 21 x 18 3/4 x 11 1/4 in. (53.34 x 47.625 x 28.575 cm). Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA.
by Thomas Sully (1783—1872)
Oil on canvas. Independence National Historical Park, Portrait Collection (Second Bank of the United States), Philadelphia, PA.
Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence (1978)