Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Portrait of George Washington
(18th and 19th Centuries )
In 1793, after working in London and Dublin for 18 years, Stuart returned to America. Two years later, he painted his first portrait of George Washington, showing the right side of the president's face, a format since known as the Vaughan type. In the spring of 1796, Washington again sat for Stuart, and the resulting portrait, which was never finished, was originally acquired by the Boston Athenaeum. Depicting the left side of the face, this second version was replicated many times, becoming an icon of American art.
The Baltimore art collector Robert Gilmor, Jr., for a fee of $150, commissioned the artist to paint this example of the Athenaeum format. It was Stuart's last likeness of Washington.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Commissioned by Robert Gilmor, Jr., Baltimore, August 12, 1825; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gilmor, Baltimore, 1848. Purchased by Mrs. Sarah Madeline Vinton Dahlgren [1] (H. N. Barlow as agrent), Washington, D.C., 1872; purchased by William T. Walters (S. P. Avery as agent), Baltimore, 1885; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
[1] wife of the American Civil War Admiral John A. Dahlgren
Exhibitions
| 2010-2011 | 19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin. |
| 2004-2005 | Gilbert Stuart. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington. |
| 1984 | The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland 1800-1934. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1954 | Man and His Years. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
| 1945 | Old and New England. Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment | repaired | |
| Examination | examined for condition | |
| 2/6/1937 | Examination | examined for other |
| 5/7/1941 | Treatment | repaired; coated |
| 6/23/1966 | Treatment | loss compensation, coated |
| 5/2/1988 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 9/1/1991 | Treatment | loss compensation; other |
Geographies
USA, Massachusetts, Boston (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 30 5/16 x W: 25 3/8 in. (77 x 64.5 cm); Framed H with build-up: 40 9/16 x W: 34 15/16 x D: 5 3/8 in. (103.03 x 88.74 x 13.65 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters, 1885
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.171