Historic Bastille Drawing Gifted to George Washington by Lafayette to be Auctioned

An ink-wash drawing of the Bastille gifted to George Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette and made simply weeks after the Bastille fell through the French Revolution, is about to be auctioned on September 10, with an estimated worth of $500,000 to $800,000 at Freeman’s | Hindman‘s forthcoming Books and Manuscripts public sale in Philadelphia on September 10, Hyperallergic stories.

The Destruction of the Bastille was made by Étienne-Louis-Denis Cathala, simply because the architect whom Lafayette put in command of the Bastille’s demolition, Pierre-Francois Palloy, commenced the job of tearing down the fortress turned jail. The French-born Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolution and an in depth confidant of Washington, despatched the drawing together with the primary key to the Bastille as a token of gratitude and a logo of the revolutionary spirit. 

In a letter to Washington that Lafayette included with the drawing the marquis wrote, “Give me depart, My pricey Normal, to current you With an image of the Bastille simply because it regarded just a few days after I Had ordered its demolition, with the Principal Kea of that fortress of despotism—it’s a tribute Which I owe as A Son to My Adoptive father, as an assist de Camp to My Normal, as a Missionary of liberty to its patriarch.” Washington is alleged to have had a deep appreciation for the work and displayed it prominently in his houses in New York, Philadelphia, and after his presidency, within the Mount Vernon. 

The drawing will likely be on public view on the Museum of the American Revolution all through August 2024 earlier than heading to Philadelphia for the public sale.