Painting will travel to Virginia
The famous Emanuel Leutze painting "Washington at the Battle of Monmouth," the most notable work of art in the Monmouth County Historical Association's collection, will be on loan to George Washington's Mount Vernon in Virginia from December 2008 until January 2010.

The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and the Society of the Cincinnati are cosponsoring an exhibition dedicated to George Washington and his generals. The exhibition will run from Feb. 21, 2009 through Jan. 10, 2010. More than 120 paintings, personal artifacts and manuscripts associated with the major generals and brigadier generals who served under Washington will be on display, according to a press release.

In 1853 Leutze petitioned the U.S. Congress to commission a large painting of Washington at Monmouth as an adjunct to his 1851 painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware." The Congress declined, but wealthy banker and art collector David Leavitt commissioned the work for his Massachusetts home.

In 1857, Leavitt commissioned Leutze to produce a smaller version of "Washington at the Battle of Monmouth" for his daughter, Elizabeth Leavitt Howe. The painting hung in the Howe home until 1937 when it was donated to the Monmouth County Historical Association. In this version, Leutze altered Washington's expression, removing all traces of anger as portrayed in the first work.

The Monmouth County Historical Association will host a "Farewell to 'Washington at the Battle of Monmouth' " before its journey to Mount Vernon. The reception will be held on Nov. 16 at the association's museum and library, 70 Court St., Freehold, at 3:30 p.m. Those wishing to attend are asked to contact the Monmouth County Historical Association at 732-462-1466.