The Washington Family by Alfred M. Hoffy after Edward Savage

Washington, Martha · 1858

Black and white print of George and Martha Washington seated at a table on a veranda. A boy (Martha's grandson, George Washington Parke Custis) stands near Washington while a girl (Eleanor Parke Custis, Martha's granddaughter) and an African American likely enslaved servant, are standing behind Martha, in the right background. The black servant who stands in the shadows behind Martha has been often identified as the enslaved servant William Lee, but Savage may have used the freemanJohn Riley as a model while creating the original painting. Washington is depicted in uniform with his arm resting on papers while Martha Washington is pointing her fan to the plans of the new federal city. A large standing globe is in foreground representing the new nation's future in a global world. This lithograph is a copy of a well known 1796 painting by Edward Savage. The Washington family posed for Savage in New York City during the winter of 1789-1790. After producing a copperplate engraving of the family, Savage returned to England and worked on the larger oil on canvas depicting an imaginary scene at Mt Vernon.