Object Image

George Washington (The “Athenaeum” Portrait) 1732–1799

Born Westmoreland County, Virginia

Gilbert Stuart first painted George Washington in 1795 (in a work now known only from copies). That painting was so successful that, according to artist Rembrandt Peale, Martha Washington “wished a Portrait for herself.” She persuaded her husband to sit again for Stuart “on the express condition that when finished it should be hers.” Stuart, however, did not want to part with the picture and left it unfinished so that he could refer to it when producing future commissions.

Known as The “Athenaeum” portrait because it went to the Boston Athenaeum after Stuart’s death, this painting served as the basis for the engraving of Washington that appears on the one-do...

1796
Oil on canvas
121.9 x 94.0cm
NPG.80.115
Image and text © National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2024

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