- The Yale University Art Gallery completed a ten-year renovation and reopened to the public December 2012. Founded by John Trumbull, who donated many of his own works in exchange for an annuity of $1000, the renovation links together three architecturally diverse buildings that, once inside, seem very much a whole. There is a wonderful collection of American art — one of the best in the country — including a room devoted to paintings by Trumbull (69 miniatures and iconic historical paintings are on view), as well as paintings by his contemporaries.
Yale University Art Gallery Reopened
As in the case of his career as commander-in-chief, Washington’s most important act as president was his giving up the office. The significance of his retirement from the presidency is easily overlooked today, but his contemporaries knew what it meant. Most people assumed that Washington might be president as long as he lived, that he would be a kind of elected monarch like the king of Poland. Hence his retirement from the presidency enhanced his moral authority and set a precedent for future presidents.
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815 (2009)