January
May 19 Government Historical Collections Transferred to SI
Year:
1883
Month:
may
Day:
19
Date:
Sat, 1883-05-19
SIA Image reference:
The relics of George Washington and other distinguished persons are transferred from the Commissioner of Patents to the National Museum, along with the Colonel Lewis collection of Washington relics, purchased for $12,000 by Congressional appropriation, and never previously unpacked. Included in the Lewis collection are two portraits of George and Martha Washington, painted by John Trumbull, considered among the choicest treasures of American art.