THE PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE.

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/17/2022

Unsigned oil on canvas, probably about 1870, inspired by the H. Brueckner painting, widely distributed in prints by John McRae about 1866. In this version Washington kneels on one knee, praying in a grove of trees, with soldiers gathered around a campfire on the right, a house, and other figures at right rear. The story of a Quaker named Potts with loyalist leanings being converted to the patriot cause by coming upon Washington praying alone in the woods shows up as early as the 1816 edition of Parson Weems and was alluded to in Woodman’s 1850 “History of Valley Forge.” It was vouched for by the Reverend Snowden, who claimed to have heart the story from Potts himself and transferred by statements of a pension agent in 1878 that it was Lafayette and Gen. Muhlenburg who came across the general in prayer. The scene evokes the nativity and St. Jerome praying in the wilderness. In this version, Washington’s horse has been transformed into a dragoon’s mount at right rear and Quaker Potts’ mill, sometimes shown at left, has been transformed into a house at right. The left side shows some abrasions, perhaps obscuring a hiding observer in the shadows of the trees. Here, Washington rests his hands on one thigh and looks upward with a somewhat satisfied smile implying he knows his prayer has been answered, something confirmed by the patch of blue sky appearing at top right as the clouds part. CONDITION: Very good. Minor losses along left edge.