Signing of the Constitution of the United States

Howard Chandler Christy

Signing of the Constitution of the United States

Oil on Canvas

20' x 30'

1940

Howard Chandler Christy (1873-1952) was an American artist and illustrator who studied in New York at the National Academy and the Art Students League.  His painting,  “Signing of the Constitution of the United States” is one of the most famous paintings of the early days of our nation.  It is so big that he painted it in the sail loft of the Washington Navy Yard.  The finished painting hangs in the Capitol Building.  The constitution is another document that defined America and what she stands for.  This enormous painting is truly awe-inspiring!  When you stand beneath it one can hardly believe one man painted it all.  In order to make this painting as accurate as possible, Christy located portraits of all but two of the men shown, and studied them to make the painting as true to life as possible.  He also researched costumes from the Smithsonian Institution as well as furniture.  Additionally, he sketched at Independence Hall in September during the time of day as the signing, so he could get the lighting as true as possible.  He spent five years researching, and seven months painting.  That dedication shows in the final product you see in the Capitol Building in Washington DC.

“For two years Artist Christy and Congressman Bloom scoured libraries and picture collections looking for likenesses and descriptions of the Constitution's 39 signers. To make the picture as accurate as possible they gathered mountains of data on costumes and furniture. When Artist Christy actually got around to painting the picture, he knew from warts to shoe buckles how every one of his historical sitters looked, except two. He made up a face for Jacob Broom; he painted Thomas FitzSimons with his face obscured by the upraised arm of a colleague.” Excerpt from Time Magazine, September 29, 1941