Lyle Tayson: George Read

Artist: Lyle Tayson
1924 -
Nationality: American
Artwork Year: 1978
Image Size: 7.5 by 10.25 inches
Overall Size: 12 by 16 inches
Medium: Water Cold on Cold Press Illustration Board

George Read was born in 1733 on his father's plantation in Maryland. At seventeen, he went to Philadelphia where he studied law. He earned admittance to the bar two years later in 1753. His brother-in-law, John Ross, arranged for Read to replace him as Delaware's attorney general, an office he then held until the Revolutionary War. Read was elected to the Delaware legislature in 1765, and to the first Continental Congress in 1774. Although he thought the calling for independence was premature, he signed the Declararion of Independence in 1776. Read attended the Annapolis Convention and, later the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he emerged as an important spokesman for the small states. He preferred Alexander Hamilton's plan of government, which called for a national executive and a Senate, both elected for life. Read also wanted to eliminate the states as part of the new government. He expressed his opinion that "There can be no cure for this evil but in doing away with States altogether, and uniting them all into one society." On the last day of the Convention, Read signed both for himself and his friend John Dickinson, who had been forced to leave early because of illness. He later led the ratification movement in Delaware, the first State to ratify the Constitution. Read then served as one of the state's first U.S. Senators, but resigned that office in 1793 to become chief justice of Delaware's supreme court. George Read died at the age of sixty-five in 1798.

This artwork was originally published on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for The Signers of the Constitution Collection issued on September 17, 1987.

Artwork Copyright © 1978 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): XB05014

US$ Price: $1,000.00

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