Portrait of George Washington

Date1796-1803

Attributed to Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) (1755-1825)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (probably)

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 70.5 x 59.1cm (27 3/4 x 23 1/4in.) unframed (35" x 30 1/2in. framed)

Credit LineGift of Marilyn Brown and Douglas Morton in honor of Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell

Object number2014-203,A&B

DescriptionBust-length portrait of George Washington based on the 1796 oil on canvas "Athenaeum" portrait by Gilbert Stuart; Washington is posed to face the viewer's left with his powdered hair pulled back into a queue and wearing a black velvet jacket with white shirt and lace jabot, against an amber background.
Label TextGilbert Stuart, one of America’s most celebrated portraitists, is known today for his remarkable likenesses of George Washington. Although he painted scores of other Americans, Stuart produced nearly one hundred images of the nation’s first president. His most notable version, today called the Athenaeum portrait, later became the design source for the image on the one dollar bill.

By the time Washington posed for Stuart, he had been elected president twice, in 1789 and 1792. Washington’s iconic status as father of his country led to a huge demand for his image and the gifted Stuart was happy to oblige. Realizing the potential income from commissions for authentic replicas of the hero's likeness, Stuart kept the unfinished Athenaeum portrait and used it over the course of his career as a model for approximately seventy-five head-and-shoulder copies, like the example you see here. The unfinished canvas stayed in the artist's possession until his death in 1828, after which it was acquired by the Boston Athenaeum.

Of the image, nineteenth-century writer and art critic, John Neal wrote, ". . . the only idea that we now have of George Washington, is associated with Stuart's Washington."

ProvenanceBefore 1900, Albert Rosenthal [1863-1939] (Philadelphia, PA); Date unknown, by sale to Joseph Wright [1841-1914] (Philadelphia, PA); By 1926, by decent to W.D. Craig Wright [1879-1951] (Philadelphia, PA); after 1951, likely by decent to his wife, Caroline Post Wright [1897-1992] (Princeton, NJ), or his daughter, Sarah Craig Wright [1920-1986] (Princeton, NJ); 1981, by sale to R.H. Love Galleries, Inc., (Chicago, IL); Date unknown, by sale to The Lamb Collection; Date unknown, to R.H. Love Galleries, Inc., (Chicago, IL); by sale to Colonial Williamsburg's donors; 2014, by donation to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).