Adams, John Quincy, as Secretary of State

Letter signed ("John Quincy Adams"), one page (9 3/4 x 8 in.; 246 x 200 mm), Washington, 3 August 1818, to John Trumbull, New York, relaying the President's approval of exhibiting his painting of the Declaration of Indepedence before sending it to Washington; inlaid, washed and pressed. Beige linen folding case, tan morocco spine, dark brown lettering pieces.

The peregrinations of John Trumbull's iconic painting,The Declaration of Independence. In 1817 Congress commissioned four paintings from Trumbull for the Rotunda of the United States Capitol. The first completed was The Declaration of Independence, which he would exhibit from September through December 1818 in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore before it made its way to Washington. In this letter, Adams conveys that President Monroe has no objections to Trumbull exhibiting the painting in New York before sending it to Washington. The painting arrived at the Capitol in early 1819 and was displayed or stored in various rooms until 1826, when it was installed in the Rotunda with Trumbull's other three paintings, The Surrender of General Burgoyne, The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, and General George Washington Resigning his Commission.