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Allegorical Tree of State
The Portraits of George Washington and John Adams
Allegorical Tree of State
John Scoles (American, active 1793 – 1844)
about 1800
Medium/Technique
Etching and engraving
Credit Line
Bequest of Abram Edmands Cutter
Accession Number01.8729
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAmericas, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Catalogue Raisonné
Baker, not listed
DescriptionA hidden-portrait allegory of the tree of state, which bears fruit in the form of the first fourteen states. The tree's trunk conceals silhouette portraits of George Washington and John Adams, the first two presidents. The composition derives from the "mysterious urn" hidden portraits of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Signed
In plate, at lower left: Scoles sculp.
InscriptionsIn plate, in image, on tablet: The Portraits of / George Washington & John Adams.
In plate, at lower left: Scoles sculp.
In plate, at lower left: Scoles sculp.
ProvenanceBy 1900, Abram Edmands Cutter (b. 1822 - d. 1900), Brookline, MA; 1901, bequest of Abram Edmands Cutter to the MFA. (Date accessioned: October 1, 1901)