Trumbull, John

(born June 6, 1756, Lebanon, Conn.—died Nov. 10, 1843, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. painter, architect, and author. The son of Gov. Jonathan Trumbull (1710–85), he served as an aide to George Washington during the American Revolution and later as secretary to John Jay in London. In 1784 he studied painting in London with Benjamin West, and with West's encouragement he began the celebrated series of historical paintings and engravings he would work on throughout his life. In 1817 he was commissioned by Congress to paint the four large pictures that decorate the Capitol rotunda (completed 1826); most of the figures in the often-reproduced Declaration of Independence were painted from life.

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