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Robert Edge Pine was born around 1730 in England, where his father, an engraver, may have provided his son’s only artistic instruction. Sympathetic to America’s struggle for independence, Pine traveled to America in 1784 with the express intent of painting the events of the Revolution. He sought and was granted exhibition and work space in Independence Hall, the site of Congress’s historic vote, where he began work on Congress Voting Independence. [1]
At this point in the narrative, historians diverge around the circumstances surrounding the completion of the painting. What is clear is that Pine died unexpectedly in 1788 at the age of fifty-eight. It is not known, however, if he completed the painting before his death or if the painting remained unfinished when it was purchased by Daniel Bowen, a museum entrepreneur who, over time, established galleries in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Sometime in the mid-1790s, the painter and engraver Edward Savage joined forces with Bowen in a venture called the Columbian Museum. It was most certainly at this time that Savage encountered the Pine painting Congress Voting Independence. Nineteenth-century historian Charles Henry Hart, among others, asserted that Savage completed Pine’s unfinished painting, while art historian Ellen Miles maintains that Savage made an oil copy and began work on an engraving. [2] The plate was almost complete upon Savage’s death in 1817; only four of the thirty-two figures remained unfinished.
The original painting by Pine was destroyed by fire in 1803. The painting upon which Savage based his engraving, whether jointly painted by Pine and Savage or completed by Pine and copied by Savage, is now in the collection of the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia History. Savage’s unfinished copper plate resides today in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and impressions were made from it as late as 1906. [3]
There exists further disagreement about the identification of the figures in the engraving. Beyond the figures of Jefferson standing in the center and Hancock seated behind the table, most scholars agree that the figure seated just right of center with his back to the viewer is Benjamin Franklin. Outside of that identification, however, there is little consensus about which figures represent the better-known signers of the document. Certainly, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Benjamin Rush are all represented in the scene, but it is impossible to confirm their placement in the composition.
In the engraving, figures are massed in groups, which are arranged rhythmically across the picture plane. Unlike Trumbull’s version, in which all figures focus their attention on the arresting moment of Jefferson’s presentation of the Declaration, the men in the Pine/Savage image interact with each other in distinctive ways, gesturing or leaning in as if engaged in conversation. Some show concern or even displeasure, as is demonstrated by the seated figure on the left, and Benjamin Franklin, in the center, appears lost in contemplation. The men are all dressed in fine suits, stockings, and buckled shoes; most wear the powdered wigs typical of the late eighteenth century. The Assembly Room in which they are gathered is characterized by ionic pilasters and niches topped by pediments, both broken and unbroken. In the 1950s, historians used the image in combination with new architectural discoveries when they began restorations of the Assembly Room in Independence Hall. [4]
While the composition created by Pine and engraved by Savage lacks the dramatic power of the Trumbull image, it represents an important attempt to recreate faithfully the appearance of a seminal event in American history. As such, it is a significant early example of an image to which the young country could attach its burgeoning patriotic sentiments.
Notes:
[1] Ellen G. Miles, American Paintings of the Eighteenth Century (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1995), 128.
[2] Charles Henry Hart, Edward Savage, Painter and Engraver, and His Unfinished Copper Plate of “Congress Voting Independence” (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1905), 10, and Miles, American Paintings, 128.
[3] Wendy J. Shadwell, American Printmaking: The First 150 Years (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1969), 37.
[4] Charlene Mires, Independence Hall in American Memory (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), 230.
ProvenanceTo 1983
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York, NY and Winston-Salem, NC [1]
From 1983
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 29, 1983. [2]
Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift, object file.
[2] See note 1.
Exhibition History2017
Samuel F.B. Morse's Gallery of the Louvre and the Art of Invention
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (02/17/2017 - 06/04/2017)
Published References
DepartmentAmerican Art
Congress Voting Independence
Engraver
Edward Savage
(1761 - 1817)
Artist(after)
Robert Edge Pine
(1742 - 1788)
Date1906
Mediumstipple and line engraving from unfinished plate
DimensionsFrame: 27 3/4 x 33 1/2 in. (70.5 x 85.1 cm)
Image: 18 7/8 x 25 11/16 in. (47.9 x 65.2 cm)
Signed<unsigned>
Credit LineGift of Barbara B. Millhouse
CopyrightPublic Domain
Object number1983.2.35
DescriptionCongress Voting Independence may be the most accurate depiction of that historic event ever created. Originally painted by the English-born artist Robert Edge Pine, the image was engraved by Edward Savage. Like the more famous version of the momentous occasion by John Trumbull, begun in 1785, and later enlarged and completed in 1818, Savage’s print depicts Thomas Jefferson center stage, presenting the Declaration of Independence to John Hancock. While Trumbull’s well-balanced image was painted with a more skillful hand, the more accurate image created by Pine benefited from the artist’s access to the venue in which the dramatic events took place.Robert Edge Pine was born around 1730 in England, where his father, an engraver, may have provided his son’s only artistic instruction. Sympathetic to America’s struggle for independence, Pine traveled to America in 1784 with the express intent of painting the events of the Revolution. He sought and was granted exhibition and work space in Independence Hall, the site of Congress’s historic vote, where he began work on Congress Voting Independence. [1]
At this point in the narrative, historians diverge around the circumstances surrounding the completion of the painting. What is clear is that Pine died unexpectedly in 1788 at the age of fifty-eight. It is not known, however, if he completed the painting before his death or if the painting remained unfinished when it was purchased by Daniel Bowen, a museum entrepreneur who, over time, established galleries in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Sometime in the mid-1790s, the painter and engraver Edward Savage joined forces with Bowen in a venture called the Columbian Museum. It was most certainly at this time that Savage encountered the Pine painting Congress Voting Independence. Nineteenth-century historian Charles Henry Hart, among others, asserted that Savage completed Pine’s unfinished painting, while art historian Ellen Miles maintains that Savage made an oil copy and began work on an engraving. [2] The plate was almost complete upon Savage’s death in 1817; only four of the thirty-two figures remained unfinished.
The original painting by Pine was destroyed by fire in 1803. The painting upon which Savage based his engraving, whether jointly painted by Pine and Savage or completed by Pine and copied by Savage, is now in the collection of the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia History. Savage’s unfinished copper plate resides today in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and impressions were made from it as late as 1906. [3]
There exists further disagreement about the identification of the figures in the engraving. Beyond the figures of Jefferson standing in the center and Hancock seated behind the table, most scholars agree that the figure seated just right of center with his back to the viewer is Benjamin Franklin. Outside of that identification, however, there is little consensus about which figures represent the better-known signers of the document. Certainly, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Benjamin Rush are all represented in the scene, but it is impossible to confirm their placement in the composition.
In the engraving, figures are massed in groups, which are arranged rhythmically across the picture plane. Unlike Trumbull’s version, in which all figures focus their attention on the arresting moment of Jefferson’s presentation of the Declaration, the men in the Pine/Savage image interact with each other in distinctive ways, gesturing or leaning in as if engaged in conversation. Some show concern or even displeasure, as is demonstrated by the seated figure on the left, and Benjamin Franklin, in the center, appears lost in contemplation. The men are all dressed in fine suits, stockings, and buckled shoes; most wear the powdered wigs typical of the late eighteenth century. The Assembly Room in which they are gathered is characterized by ionic pilasters and niches topped by pediments, both broken and unbroken. In the 1950s, historians used the image in combination with new architectural discoveries when they began restorations of the Assembly Room in Independence Hall. [4]
While the composition created by Pine and engraved by Savage lacks the dramatic power of the Trumbull image, it represents an important attempt to recreate faithfully the appearance of a seminal event in American history. As such, it is a significant early example of an image to which the young country could attach its burgeoning patriotic sentiments.
Notes:
[1] Ellen G. Miles, American Paintings of the Eighteenth Century (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1995), 128.
[2] Charles Henry Hart, Edward Savage, Painter and Engraver, and His Unfinished Copper Plate of “Congress Voting Independence” (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1905), 10, and Miles, American Paintings, 128.
[3] Wendy J. Shadwell, American Printmaking: The First 150 Years (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1969), 37.
[4] Charlene Mires, Independence Hall in American Memory (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), 230.
ProvenanceTo 1983
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York, NY and Winston-Salem, NC [1]
From 1983
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 29, 1983. [2]
Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift, object file.
[2] See note 1.
Exhibition History2017
Samuel F.B. Morse's Gallery of the Louvre and the Art of Invention
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (02/17/2017 - 06/04/2017)
Published References
Status
Not on viewCollections