Visit of the Prince of Wales, President Buchanan, and Dignitaries to the Tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon, October 1860

Thomas P. Rossiter, Visit of the Prince of Wales, President Buchanan, and Dignitaries to the Tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon, October 1860, 1861, oil on canvas, 27 ¹⁄₄ x 54 ³⁄₈ in. (69.3 x 138.1 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Harriet Lane Johnston, 1906.9.18

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Artwork Details

Title: Visit of the Prince of Wales, President Buchanan, and Dignitaries to the Tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon, October 1860
Artist: Thomas P. Rossiter
Date: 1861
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 27 ¹⁄₄ x 54 ³⁄₈ in. (69.3 x 138.1 cm.)
Credit Line: Bequest of Harriet Lane Johnston
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Figure group
Portrait male — Buchanan, James
Monument — tomb — Washington
Ceremony — civic — political
History — United States
Occupation — political — president
Object Number: 1906.9.18
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1906.9.18

Artwork Description

In 1860, the nineteen-year-old Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) visited the tomb of the man who had led the Continental Army to victory over the forces of Great Britain in the American Revolution. Demonstrating the renewed harmony between the two nations, President James Buchanan stands beside the heir to the British throne as he pays his respects at this American shrine. The clouds above the assembled crowd of dignitaries take the form of George Washington's profile.