George Washington

Status

Not on view

Label Text

In 1795, George Washington sat for the artist Charles Willson Peale at Philosophical Hall in Philadelphia. Peale had painted six earlier life portraits of Washington and this would be his last. Peale's likeness of the president presented a serious but tranquil statesman contemplating the nation's future. Its modest success led to commissions for small size copies such as this one, which offered art patrons an intimate look at the venerated leader.

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Datec. 1795-1800

Artist Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741 - 1827)

Subject George Washington (American, 1732 - 1799)

Geography Probably made - United States

Medium/TechniqueA: Oil on canvas B: Wood, gesso, gilt

DimensionsOverall (A: painting): 7 3/4 in. x 6 1/8 in. (19.69 cm x 15.57 cm) Overall (B: frame): 12 in. x 10 3/8 in. x 2 3/16 in. (30.48 cm x 26.37 cm x 5.56 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Wallace H. Cole and Mrs. John C. Jansing, 1995

Object numberM-3761/A-B

DescriptionA:
Bust-length oil on canvas portrait of George Washington; Washington is turned three-quarters to the right and is dressed in a black coat and waistcoat with a white stock and ruffle of lace at the neck; Washington's hair is curled and powdered and held at back in a black queue bag; dark maroon background lit from the upper proper right.

B:
Gilded composition on wood Louis XVI frame with a beaded border, acanthus ogee, plain molding, and a narrow band of egg and dart molding.

Published ReferencesBerta N. Briggs, Charles Willson Peale - Artist and Patriot (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1952), 225-226.

Charles Coleman Sellers, Portraits and Miniatures by Charles Willson Peale (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1952), 239-241. (general reference)

John Hill Morgan and Mantle Fielding, The Life Portraits of Washington and Their Replicas (Philadelphia: Lancaster Press Inc., 1931), No. 54, p. 43.

Elizabeth Bryant Johnston, Original Portraits of Washington (Boston: James R. Osgood & Company, 1882), 15.

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