George Washington

Status

Not on view

Label Text

On his tour of the southern states in the spring of 1791, President George Washington made a brief visit to "Mulberry Grove" in Georgia, the home of Catherine Littlefield Greene, widow of Major General Nathanael Greene. At that time, Washington may have presented this pin to Mrs. Greene as a token of esteem. The portrait of a gentleman, fashionably dressed in a coat with a high turn-down collar, may represent Washington himself. The respect with which he regarded General Greene and his wife was mutual. The Greenes had earlier named their eldest children after the President and Mrs. Washington.

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Datec. 1791

Subject George Washington (American, 1732 - 1799)

Geography Made - United States

Medium/TechniqueGlass, copper alloy, pearls, ivory, paint

DimensionsOverall: 1 9/16 in. x 7/8 in. x 1/2 in. (3.96 cm x 2.24 cm x 1.27 cm)

Credit LineGift of Annie Burr Jennings, Vice Regent for Connecticut, 1924 Conservation courtesy of The Founders, Washington Committee Endowment Fund

Object numberW-470

DescriptionMarquise form miniature with full length portrait of a man in grisaille; the figure [Washington] looks at the viewer with his body turned slightly toward the right; he is dressed in breeches, waistcoat, and a coat with a high turned-down collar typical of the period c. 1780- c. 1790; his hair is curled on either side above the ears; he stands with his right elbow resting on the shrub behind him and his left hand tucked into his breeches; his feet and right hand are exceedingly small and out of proportion with the rest of his body; directly behind him is a large shrub, above which rises the trunk of tree; on the proper right, in the background, beyond the shrub is seen a pond with two ducks and a wall, behind which rises a tree and two hipped roof buildings; a birds flies overhead.

Conforming copper alloy case with a border of seed pearls in closed-back settings mounted around perimeter of miniature; pin and clasp are attached to the reverse.

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