Ink Drawing of the Bastille Gifted to George Washington Goes on Sale

An ink-wash drawing of the Bastille gifted to George Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette and made just weeks after the Bastille fell during the French Revolution, is set to be auctioned on September 10, with an estimated value of $500,000 to $800,000 at Freeman’s | Hindman‘s forthcoming Books and Manuscripts auction in Philadelphia on September 10, Hyperallergic reports.

The Destruction of the Bastille was made by Étienne-Louis-Denis Cathala, just as the architect whom Lafayette put in charge of the Bastille’s demolition, Pierre-Francois Palloy, commenced the job of tearing down the fortress turned prison. The French-born Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolution and a close confidant of Washington, sent the drawing along with the main key to the Bastille as a token of gratitude and a symbol of the revolutionary spirit. 

In a letter to Washington that Lafayette included with the drawing the marquis wrote, “Give me leave, My dear General, to present you With a picture of the Bastille just as it looked a few days after I Had ordered its demolition, with the Main Kea of that fortress of despotism—it is a tribute Which I owe as A Son to My Adoptive father, as an aid de Camp to My General, as a Missionary of liberty to its patriarch.” Washington is said to have had a deep appreciation for the work and displayed it prominently in his homes in New York, Philadelphia, and after his presidency, in the Mount Vernon. 

The drawing will be on public view at the Museum of the American Revolution throughout August 2024 before heading to Philadelphia for the auction.