George Washington

Status

Not on view

Label Text

Martha Washington commissioned Gilbert Stuart for portraits of herself and her husband in 1796. Although George Washington's jaw and mouth look stiff and uncomfortable due to a new set of ill-fitting dentures, Stuart was so satisfied with the resulting likeness that he kept the unfinished canvases as sources for his many replicas. He painted approximately 75 of George Washington, including this extremely fine example, each with slight variations. Despite repeated requests from Martha Washington and Tobias Lear for the originals, Stuart's original portraits of our nation's first couple never made it to Mount Vernon. Today, the original, or “Athenaeum” portrait is owned jointly by the National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The work is arguably the most recognized image of George Washington, as a version of it appears on the U.S. one-dollar bill.

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Datec. 1798

Artist Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755 - 1828)

Subject George Washington (American, 1732 - 1799)

Geography Probably made - United States

Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas; gilt wood frame

DimensionsOverall (Canvas): 29 3/16 in. × 24 in. × 1 3/16 in. (74.14 cm × 60.96 cm × 3.02 cm) Other (frame): 35 13/16 in. x 30 5/8 in. (90.96 cm x 77.79 cm) Other (frame molding width): 3 3/4 in. (9.53 cm)

Credit LineGift of Caroline H. Richardson, 1904

Object numberH-4/A-B

DescriptionVertical, rectangular, bust-length portrait of George Washington, facing proper right, and gazing at the viewer. He wears a black velvet high-collared coat and waistcoat with a white stock and shirt ruffle of patterned lace. He has been shown with pale skin and very pink lips and cheeks. The work is lit from the upper proper right, and there are several brightly lit spots, such as at the tip of Washington’s nose and his forehead. His powdered hair is shown in a range of tones from gray to cream, and is worn in a queue with a black hair bag adorned with a sawtoothed ribbon rosette. The background is painted in a taupe-brown color and is generally uniform.

Published ReferencesCarol Borchert Cadou, The Mount Vernon Ladies Association: 150 Years of Restoring George Washington's Home (Mount Vernon, VA: Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1999), 33.

Carol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills, 2006), 166-7, cat. no. 52.

Carrie Rebora Barratt and Ellen G. Miles, Gilbert Stuart (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005), 147-66, nos. 39-44. (General Reference)

Ellen G. Miles, George and Martha Washington: Portraits From the Presidential Years (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1999), 38-39. (General Reference)

James C. Reese, Treasures From Mount Vernon: George Washington Revealed (Mount Vernon, VA: Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1999), 106-7.

Gustavus A. Eisen, Portraits of Washington (New York: Robert Hamilton & Associates, 1932), 152-53. Eisen catalogued the "George Beck-Mount Vernon" canvas under Athenaeum Subseries II, Group 1 (b). His classification system, however, is dated and considered defunct (see Rebora et al.)

John Hill Morgan and Mantle Fielding, Life Portraits of Washington and Their Replicas (Philadelphia: the authors, 1931). Morgan and Fielding claim no. 49, pp. 240-41, 282-83, was "ordered by Mrs. Washington" and "hung at Mount Vernon until Washington's death" but this cannot be substantiated and is now regarded as false. Mantle and Fielding's supposed "Mount Vernon" portrait is not H-4.

Lawrence Park, Gilbert Stuart: An Illustrated Descriptive List of His Works (New York: W.E. Rudge, 1926), Vol. 2. (General Reference-No correct citation of our work)

George C. Mason, The Life and Works of Gilbert Stuart (New York: Charles Scribner, 1879). (General Reference)

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