The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar
1789
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
71 x 107 in. (180.3 x 271.8 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Pauline V. Fullerton Bequest; Mr. and Mrs. James Walter Carter and Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Gifts; Erving Wolf Foundation and Vain and Harry Fish Foundation Inc. Gifts; Gift of Hanson K. Corning, by exchange; and Maria DeWitt Jesup and Morris K. Jesup Funds, 1976
Accession Number
1976.332
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
John Trumbull’s *The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar* (1789) brings to life a pivotal moment from the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779–1783), one of the longest and most grueling engagements of the late eighteenth century. Painted in oil on a large canvas measuring over nine feet wide, the work depicts British soldiers surging from the fortress walls in a daring counterattack against besieging Spanish and French forces. Trumbull, already celebrated for his scenes of the American Revolution, chose here to portray a British victory during the same global conflict, underscoring the interco...
About the Artist
John Trumbull · 1756–1843
John Trumbull, born on June 6, 1756, in Lebanon, Connecticut, to prominent Puritan descendants, grew up in a politically influential family as the son of Jonathan Trumbull, Connecticut's governor from 1769 to 1784, and Faith Robinson Trumbull. His brothers included Joseph, the Continental Army's first commissary general, and Jonathan Jr., Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. A childhood a...