Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

The Washington Family
1798
Edward Savage, painter and engraver (1761-1817); Robert Wilkinson, publisher (1758-1825)
USA: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and England: London
Engraving and Stipple Engraving on paper
sheet: 22"h x 26-1/4"w
Special Acquisitions Fund
78.74.16

Engraving of the Washington family shows George Washington, sword, seated at table; Custis boy next to him holds compasses, rests hand on globe; Martha Washington shown with Custis girl who holds map; black slave in background; open window with Potomac River in background; on bottom: "Painted and engrav'd by E. Savage/ The Washington Family George Washington his lady and her two grandchildren by the name of Custis/ Philadelphia Published March 10th, 1798 by E. Savage and Robt. Wilkinson No. 58 Cornhill, London"; description written in French on other side.

Artist Edward Savage painted, and later engraved, one of the most famous portraits of George Washington and his family in 1798. He based his painting, The Washington Family, on multiple sittings with family members. The work depicts George and Martha Washington, their grandchildren and William Lee, an enslaved man. Throughout the 1800s, artists reproduced and reinterpreted the original painting and print, changing the background, dress, and colors to suit the cultural and social currents of the times.