The Baptism of Pocahontas Vignette on the $20 National Bank Note: Art, History, and Capitol Rotunda Connections
The $20 National Bank Note Series of 1875 and its predecessors feature one of the most historically significant vignettes ever printed on American currency: the Baptism of Pocahontas, drawn directly from John Gadsby Chapman’s massive painting in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Understanding this artistic connection transforms how collectors evaluate these notes and reveals the deliberate storytelling the Treasury Department embedded in nineteenth-century bank note design.
Read More →