Special Exhibit: Washington's Sash
On view in All the World Is Here May 25–October 18, 2026
Presented to mark the 250th Anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.
This blue sash, faded by time, symbolizes the dream of America.
In 1776, American artist Charles Willson Peale painted a portrait of George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. As part of his military regalia, Washington wears a blue taffeta sash across his chest. This is likely the same sash. Washington himself decided the system of colored sashes to denote rank. He wrote that the commander-in-chief would have “a light blue Ribband, wore across his breast, between his Coat and Waistcoat.”
The sash came to the Peabody Museum by way of the Philadelphia Museum. That museum, opened in 1784, was founded by the very Charles Peale who painted Washington’s portrait. When the museum closed in 1848, the sales catalog noted that the collection included “Washington’s Sash & various curiosities.” The buyer was Moses Kimball of the Boston Museum. At that time, the sash included a label reading, “Washington’s Sash. Presented by Himself,” suggesting that it was a gift from Washington to Peale directly. In 1899, the Boston Museum closed, and some 1,400 objects—including this sash—came to the Peabody Museum.
Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741–1827). George Washington, 1776. Oil on canvas, 44 × 38 5/16 in. (111.7 × 97.3 cm) frame: 3 13/16 × 53 3/4 × 48 in. (9.7 × 136.5 × 121.9 cm) frame: 53 1/4 × 48 × 3 3/4 in. (135.3 × 121.9 × 9.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 34.1178. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
See the related Harvard Yard Archaeology Project display in the Peabody Museum lobby.