U.S. passport to feature John Trumbull’s “Declaration of Independence” for 250th anniversary
A new limited-edition U.S. passport is set to turn a routine travel document into a small piece of American art history. The State Department plans to release the commemorative passport for the nation’s 250th anniversary, pairing Donald Trump’s portrait with John Trumbull’s 1817 painting “Declaration of Independence.”
The image choice carries a familiar but often misunderstood story. Trumbull’s large canvas does not show the signing of the Declaration in Philadelphia. Instead, it depicts the presentation of a draft of the document to Congress in 1776. The work includes about 42 of the signatories, while Trumbull originally intended to include the remaining 14 as well.
The painting has long occupied a prominent place in the American visual canon. It hangs in the US Capitol Rotunda, and a smaller version is held by the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut. Its reach widened further through an engraving by Asher B. Durand, which helped make the composition nationally recognizable. The image also appeared on the now defunct $2 bill, giving generations of Americans a second, more familiar encounter with the scene.
According to the State Department, the special passports will be available to any American citizen and will remain on sale until the limited run is exhausted. On the back, the design includes an American flag with a “250” inset where the stars would normally appear.
The result is a document that does more than mark a milestone. It also places one of the country’s most enduring historical images back into circulation, this time in the pocket of anyone who applies for the commemorative edition.
