Skip to main content

Primary sourcePainting1789–1796

The Washington Family

Edward Savage · 1789–1796

A life-sized group portrait of George and Martha Washington with her grandchildren and an enslaved servant, set above a plan of the new federal city.

This group portrait shows Washington at home with his family, with an enslaved servant whose presence reveals slavery's place in his household.

Ask George Washington about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Painting of a seated man in a dark coat and yellow breeches beside a table with a large map, a sword, and a hat. A young boy in pink stands at left with a globe, a woman in a white gown sits at right, a young woman stands behind the table, and a Black servant in a red-trimmed coat stands at far right. A red curtain and landscape fill the background.
Edward Savage, The Washington Family, 1789–1796. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

About this source

What it is

This large oil painting by Edward Savage shows George Washington with Martha Washington, two of her grandchildren, and a Black servant, likely enslaved, whose identity was not recorded. It was begun in the early 1790s and finished in 1796, and now hangs in the National Gallery of Art.

Why it matters

The scene is set at Mount Vernon, with a plan of the future city of Washington laid out before the family, linking Washington's domestic life to his role in founding the nation's capital. The painting was widely copied as prints and became one of the most famous images of Washington in the 19th century, while the unnamed enslaved servant reminds viewers that slavery was part of the household shown as ideal.

Look closer

  • Why do you think the servant's name was never recorded, while everyone else is identified?
  • What does the map in the painting suggest about Washington's ambitions?
  • How does this painting present an idealized image of the Washington family, and what does it leave out?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of George Washington on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More George Washington sources

Meet the AI George Washington →
Letter

Primary source

To John Augustine Washington, 18 July 1755

George Washington · 18 July 1755

Document

Primary source

General Orders, 9 July 1776

George Washington · 9 July 1776

Letter

Primary source

Circular to the States

George Washington · 8 June 1783

Oil portrait of an older man with powdered white hair, wearing a dark velvet coat, white cravat, and lace jabot, against a olive-brown background. A signature appears at lower right.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of George Washington by Wertmüller

Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller · 1795

Scan of a printed broadside titled 'The Address of Gen. Washington to the People of America, on his declining the Presidency of the United States.' It has a central engraved portrait of a man in military uniform with epaulettes, facing left, above dense small-print text in two columns. The paper is aged orange-brown.Speech

Primary source

George Washington's Farewell Address

George Washington · 19 September 1796

Ready when you are

Start chatting with George Washington now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions