View of Mount Vernon Looking Towards the South West

Description

Watercolor on paper of "View of Mount Vernon Looking Towards the South West", 1796, from the Latrobe Sketchbooks, by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. On July 16, 1796, Latrobe journeyed to President George Washington's Virginia estate "Mount Vernon" to deliver a letter from Washington's nephew, and Latrobe's friend, Bushrod Washington (1762-1829). Washington and Latrobe dined several times during that day and the next morning for breakfast and discussed economic and business interests at home and abroad. This view, looking southwest from Mt. Vernon shows the front of Washington's home, the Potomac River, and Maryland in the distance.