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The Great Experiment: George
Washington and the American Republic
One of the most extensive exhibitions ever
undertaken on the life, political aspirations, and achievements of George
Washington, The Great Experiment: George Washington and the American
Republic opens at the Morgan Library on September 16, 1999, and remains
on view through January 9, 2000. Commemorating the two-hundredth anniversary
of Washington's death, The Great Experiment follows his evolution
from a loyal British subject to the leader of a complex revolution to the
country's first president and explores his personal history and the development
of the persona that -- even in his own lifetime -- made him appear more
monument than man.
The Great Experiment focuses
on key moments in Washington's life, such as his decisions to retire as
young
commander in chief of the American forces at the height of his power, an
act that remains uncommon today, and to leave the presidential office after
two terms, setting a precedent that was not broken until Franklin D. Roosevelt
secured a third term in 1940. The presentation revivifies the urgency of
the situation Washington and his peers faced and brings to life the genuinely
revolutionary process that brought forth the first successful modern republican
nation. The materials on view show how pivotal Washington was to the creation
of the new republic.
The
exhibition at the Morgan Library is made possible by Betty Wold Johnson.
Major support is provided by the Gilder Foundation, Inc., and Metropolitan
Life Foundation. Additional funding is provided by Sue Erpf Van de Bovenkamp.
The Anniversary Year of exhibitions and programs is sponsored by J.P Morgan,
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, New York Stock Exchange, Inc., and The New York
Times Company Foundation, Inc.
Drawn primarily from the collections of the Morgan Library,
the Gilder Lehrman 
Collection
-- on deposit at the Morgan Library -- and the Huntington Library, San Marino,
Califomia, The Great Experiment includes approximately 100 manuscripts,
letters, rare printed documents, objects, maps, and published writings that
demonstrate both Washington's growth as a man and the untested government
of the United States of America. It is presented in conjunction with the
Huntington Library, Art Collections
and Botanical Gardens, where it was on view from October 6, 1998,
through May 30, 1999. The exhibition was organized by John Rhodehamel, Norris
Foundation Curator of American History at the Huntington. The curator in
charge of the exhibition at the Morgan Library is Robert Parks, Curator
of Literary and Historical Manuscripts. The accompanying catalogue, published
by Yale University Press, includes an essay by Rhodehamel.
Exhibition Arrangement and Highlights
For nearly a quarter century, George Washington was the
most influential man in America. He commanded the Continental army from
1775 to 1783, presided over the drafting of the Constitution, and served
as president from 1789 to 1797. His greatness, however, was not predestined.
In the exhibition catalogue, Rhodehamel writes, "But George Washington
did not get his start in life as a marble colossus on a pedestal. Washington's
act of self-creation was one of the most comprehensive in all of America's
long procession of self-made men."
The Great Experimeurt traces the course of this process
and Washington's political impact on America. Divided into five sections--Early
Life, The Revolution, The Constitution, The Presidency, and Farewell --
the exhibition illustrates, in Washington's own hand, his struggle to join
the Virginia gentry, his business as a land speculator, and his public life,
upon which the future of the United States was built.
Images from top to bottom: Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) Life Mask
of George Wasshington, plaster, taken at Mt. Vernon, October 1785, 12
1/2 inches high, The Pierpont Morgan Library, Purchased by Pierpont Morgan
© The Pierpont Morgan Library; Two stars from General Washingon's
uniform, with locks of hair of George and Martha Washington, The Pierpont
Morgan Library, Gift of Louisa Lee Schuyler and Georgina Schuyler, 1924,
MA 6029 © The Pierpont Morgan Library; Paul Revere (1735-1818) The
Bloody Massacre perpetrated in...Boston on March 5, 1770, Boston, 1770,
Gilder Lehrman Collection, on deposit at The Pierpont Morgan Library, GLC
1868 Photo © The Pierpont Morgan Library; François X. Habermann
(1721-1796) Representation du Feu terrible a Nouvelle Yorck... 19 September
1776, Augsburg, c. 1778, The Huntington Library, HL 88539 © The
Huntington Library
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Copyright 2006 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights
reserved.
One of the most extensive exhibitions ever
undertaken on the life, political aspirations, and achievements of George
Washington, The Great Experiment: George Washington and the American
Republic opens at the Morgan Library on September 16, 1999, and remains
on view through January 9, 2000. Commemorating the two-hundredth anniversary
of Washington's death, The Great Experiment follows his evolution
from a loyal British subject to the leader of a complex revolution to the
country's first president and explores his personal history and the development
of the persona that -- even in his own lifetime -- made him appear more
monument than man.
