Gilbert Stuart

American, 1755 - 1828

BiographyBorn in Newport, Rhode Island. Active dates: 1765-1828. Painter. Stuart received his initial instruction from the Italian-trained Scottish artist, Cosmo Alexander (1724-1772). He traveled with Alexander on a painting tour of Philadelphia, Delaware, and Virginia as his assistant. In 1770, they both traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland where Alexander unexpectedly died in 1772. Working his way back to Rhode Island, Stuart eventually returned to Europe where he settled in London from 1775 to 1787. In early 1775, he began working in the studio of Benjamin West (1738-1820), where he painted drapery and finished portraits. He was confident enough in his skill that he exhibited at the Royal Academy in the spring of 1787. Throughout his life Stuart was well known for living beyond his means, and later that year he fled to Dublin, perhaps to escape his creditors. He remained there until 1793, when he returned to America. Initially settling in New York, he built his reputation painting portraits of the city's elite. In 1794, he traveled to Philadelphia. George Washington first posed for him in 1794; this sitting resulted in the "Vaughan-type" portrait (named after Samuel Vaughan (1720-1802), one of Stuart's many clients who ordered a copy of the portrait of Washington). It success motivated Martha Washington commission Stuart to paint a pair of portraits of her and her husband for their Virginia home, Mount Vernon. Although he never finished the original, the "Athenaeum-type" portrait of Washington became the most famous (named for the Boston library that acquired it after his death). In 1796, Washington posed for Stuart once more, a sitting that resulted in his "Landsdowne-type" portrait (named after Lord Landsdowne (1737-1805), the recipient of the full length portrait commissioned by William Bingham, (1752-1804)). Stuart moved to Washington, the District of Columbia in 1803, where he painted affluent citizens, statesmen, and their families alike. He moved back to Boston two years later, where he remained for the rest of his life.

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