La destruction de la statue royale a Nouvelle Yorck [New Yorkers pull down George III's statue] [engraving]

La destruction de la statue royale a Nouvelle Yorck [New Yorkers pull down George III's statue] [engraving]

[Paris] [177?]

1 hand colored print ; on sheet 31 x 43 cm. ; matted 35 x 47 cm.

P&E L1996F286

On July 10, 1776, after hearing the reading of the Declaration of Independence, New Yorkers went on a rampage, smashing the windows of Royalists and tearing down the 25' gilt equestrian statue of King George III located on Bowling Green. The head of the statue was sawed off by one of the Sons of Liberty and set up on a spike in the Blue Bell Tavern near what is now 181st Street and Broadway. The rest of the statue was hauled away and eventually melted into bullets. Later the head was stolen by loyalists and given to the British when they drove the Americans out of New York. The head was returned to England where it was used to show the disrespect the Colonists had for their king! This etching is a fictional view by a French engraver, and does not show the king on horseback but rather looking like a Roman ruler. Also, the statue is being dismantled not by the colonists and soldiers but by slaves drawn to look more like Indian coolies.
The etching of this event was published by the French and also titled in German and widely reprinted in Europe indicating European interest in our early revolutionary fervor
Cresswell attributes the etching to Andre Bassett Paine, while an art auction catalogue lists it by J. Chereau.
The title on this copy is in a different script compared to the one shown in Cresswell, and the title on this copy only appears in French. In the lower left corner of this print it references, "Aaaa. No. 2." Digitied image available, see URL

Cresswell, Donald H., The American revolution in drawings and prints, 263

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