About

In 1781, the Siege of Yorktown secured George Washington's greatest military victory and effectively ended the Revolutionary War. Because Yorktown was a siege rather than a dramatic battle, artists have long faced the challenge of how to represent its significance in visual art. Over time, they turned to portraits, landscapes, battle scenes, and commemorative images to capture the meaning of this pivotal moment.

Organized in collaboration with George Washington's Mount Vernon and presented in celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, the exhibition "Washington's Greatest Victory: Yorktown and American Art" explores how artists have interpreted Yorktown and shaped its place in national memory.

This exhibition is supported in part by a grant from Virginia Humanities and the VA250 Commission in partnership with Virginia Humanities.

Exhibition and educational support for the Taubman Museum of Art's 75th Anniversary is generously supported in part by the Richard S. Reynolds Foundation, Helen S. and Charles G. Patterson, Jr., Charitable Foundation Trust, and the Richard and Caroline T. Gwathmey Memorial Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.

[Image credit: Louis-Charles-Auguste Couder, "Study for the Siege of Yorktown," 1836, oil on canvas, George Washington's Mount Vernon, purchased by the A. Alfred Taubman Acquisition Endowment Fund, 2019, Conservation courtesy of The Founders, Washington Committee Endowment Fund]