Washington and His Wife
Date1876
Engraver
John Chester Buttre
(American, 1821 - 1893)
After
Gilbert Stuart
(American, 1755 - 1828)
Medium/TechniqueEngraving, watercolor, paper
DimensionsOverall (overall, framed): 30 in. × 36 5/8 in. (76.2 cm × 93.03 cm)
Overall (sight, inside mat): 16 9/16 in. × 22 7/8 in. (42.07 cm × 58.1 cm)
Overall (image): 13 1/4 in. × 20 1/4 in. (33.66 cm × 51.44 cm)
Credit LineGift of Susan J. Gregory, 2016
Object numberM-5494
DescriptionHorizontally oriented rectangular composition, hand painted in color, featuring double portrait of George Washington and Martha Washington, both shown bust length, half turned to face each other, in oval reserves. The portraits are after Gilbert Stuart’s unfinished “Athenaeum” portraits and are each surrounded by decorative vignettes. George Washington's portrait is surrounded by military vignettes. Centered above the oval is a small standing figure of George Washington, after Stuart’s “Lansdowne” portrait, and below, a second small standing figure, after Junius Brutus Stearns’s “Washington as a Farmer, at Mount Vernon.” Above Martha Washington’s oval is a view of the east lawn of Mount Vernon with a horse drawn carriage and numerous visitors in mid-19th century costume; below are six cherubs with swags of flowers, on either side of a small figure of Martha Washington walking in a garden with a large urn to her right. Above this figure are the words: “HONOR TO WOMAN TO HER IT IS GIVEN TO GARDEN THE EARTH WITH THE ROSES OF HEAVEN”. Under the image field are the following words, from left: “G. Stuart” / “Entered according to act of Congress AD 1876 by J C Buttre in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.” / "JC Buttre" / “M Washington’ [signature] / “G Washington” [signature] / “WASHINGTON AND HIS WIFE.” The print is housed in a modern wood frame, painted gold, with modern glazing and backing.
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c. 1870
c. 1800-1900
c. 1876
1850-1920
