General Washington Saying Farewell to His Officers in Fraunces Tavern, New York (from the Bicentennial Pageant of George Washington portfolio)

Samuel V. Chamberlain

This etching, 'General Washington Saying Farewell to His Officers in Fraunces Tavern, New York', was the fifteenth of twenty etchings included in the 1932 Bicentennial Pageant of George Washington, (also called "The Life of George Washington") and was edited by John Taylor Arms in 1932; printed in England by Henry E. Carling on laid paper with watermarks "GW" (George Washington's monogram) and an eagle and shield coat of arms handmade at Head Mill, Maidstone, England. It was published by the American Art Foundation in an edition of 1000 (plus 20 artists' proofs).

Fraunces Tavern, built in 1719, located at 54 Pearl St at the corner of Broad, still exists in New York as a tavern and museum. It served as a headquarters for George Washington and when the British troops left New York in 1783 Washington bade farewell to his officers of the Continental Army.

The marketing for the portfolio read: "The American Art Foundation has the honor to announce Twenty Masterpieces in Etching each executed by one of America's most distinguished artists."

Originally commissioned by private investors, each artist was asked to complete a piece relating to George Washington, his private and public life. The respective artist signed each print in the portfolio at the time of issue, and the entire set bears those original signatures. Included among the artists are: William Auerbach-Levy, Ralph Boyer, Samuel V. Chamberlain, Kerr Eby, Sears Gallagher, Childe Hassam, Arthur William Heintzelman, Eugene Higgins, Earl Horter, Robert Lawson, Allen Lewis, F. Luis Mora, Robert H. Nisbet, Louis C. Rosenberg, Ernest David Roth, Albert Sterner, Walter Tittle, Levon West, J.W. Winkler, and George Wright.