# @mdhistory on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CLUP9azA9Zj
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/75983669-mdhistory-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/33152387d2.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-02-15T14:35:06.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) (@mdhistory) — https://gondola.cc/mdhistory

## Caption

Happy President's Day!

This view of George Washington’s original tomb at Mount Vernon is one of several paintings English-born artist, Francis Guy, advertised for sale by lottery in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 22, 1804. 

The view, though charming, is geographically incorrect. Guy depicted the tomb under a large mound on the embankment just above the Potomac River with the Maryland shoreline in the distance. The entrance to the vault, which by 1804 contained the remains of Martha Washington (1731-1802), is shown flanked by two red brick columns surmounted by an arch. At the actual site, the mound above the vault is small and the embankment on which the tomb was placed is a steep hillside with a precipitous drop of well over 100 feet.
 
Image: General Washington's Present Tomb, by Francis Guy (1760-1820), oil on canvas, c.1804. Maryland Center for History and Culture.

#GeorgeWashington #AmericanHistory #PresidentialHistory #ArtHistory #FrancisGuy #OilPainting

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 43
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 0

## Tags

oilpainting, francisguy, arthistory, presidentialhistory, americanhistory, georgewashington

---
Copyright (c) Gondola