George Washington
This bust of George Washington by self-taught artist Clark Mills is integrally linked to the widely-admired clay bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon, produced from a life sitting in 1785 (W-369). In 1849, Mills cast his bust directly from a piece mold of Houdon’s original bust, reproducing the Houdon almost exactly. In the process, Mills’ damaged the Houdon, necessitating multiple repairs to the original in the ensuing years. Mills’ cast shows the resultant damages in the areas of the eyes and nose. The cast was left with John Augustine Washington III, Washington descendant and owner of Mount Vernon, and remained at Mount Vernon since that time.
A plaque on the wooden base reads: “Presented in 1860 to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association by John Augustine Washington III.”
Published ReferencesJohn Philip Colletta, “The Workman of C. Mills: Carl Ludwig Richter and the Statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park, Washington History, 23 (2011): 2-35. (General Reference).
Charles Colbert, “Clark Mills and the Phrenologist,” Art Bulletin, 70, No. 1 (March, 1988): 134-137. (General Reference).
Andrew S. Keck, “A Toast to the Union: Clark Mills' Equestrian Statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square,” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, DC, 71/72 (1971/1972): 289-313. (General Reference).
Charles Seymour, “Houdon’s Washington at Mount Vernon Re-examined,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts, VI Series, XXXV, NO. 973). (March 1948): 144, 147.
Gustavus Eisen, Portraits of Washington (New York: Robert Hamilton, 1932), 3: 820-824.
John Hill Morgan and Mantle Fielding, The Life Portraits of Washington and Their Replicas (Lancaster, PA: Lancaster Press, 1931), 111-113.
Lorado Taft, The History of American Sculpture (New York: Macmillan Co., 1930), 122-128. (General Reference).
W. O. Hart, "Clark Mills: Paper Read before the Louisiana Historical Society on June 28, 1921,” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, DC, 24 (1922), 200-203. (General Reference).
Elizabeth Bryant Johnston, Original Portraits of Washington (Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1882), 165-8.
David Bernard Dearinger, Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design, 281-282