Portrait of George Washington.
Circa 1825
Oil on Canvas 25”x 30”
Overall dimensions with frame 35 ½” x 40”
Unknown artist, after Gilbert Stuart
Commentary: Gilbert Stuart painted approximately seventy five replicas of the “Athenaeum” portrait and his daughter, Jane, painted a significant but unknown number of copies of her father’s masterpiece. Stuart’s portraits were all derived from the unfinished canvas thought to have been begun in 1796 when the then president sat in Germantown for the full length image that has come to be known as the Lansdowne portrait. The face of the unfinished portrait, (acquired by the Boston Athenaeum at Stuart’s death in 1828) strongly resembles the Lansdowne and is among the most famous and iconic images of Washington. Numerous scholars have attempted to document the histories, sequencing, relative importance and otherwise categorize Stuart’s own versions of the “Athenaeum” portrait; but, concludes Stuart authority Ellen Miles, “their exercise is futile beyond the most general observations.” Miles’ conclusion is certainly true and is doubly so with respect to the copies of Stuart’s work by other artist, including Jane, which began as early as 1796 when John Vanderlyn is thought to have made a copy while working as an assistant in Stuart’s studio. Portraits of Washington were much sought after during his lifetime, bringing his swearing to Martha that he would deny any further requests for sittings. His death in 1799 only increased the demand for images of the first president and, with Stuart in the forefront, such artists as Sully, Savage, Otis, and many others were commissioned by clients for the most faithful likenesses possible of the “most approved” life portraits available.
This portrait closely resembles the “Pennington portrait” named for its first owner Edward Pennington of Philadelphia. Pennington was a founder of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and successful merchant. Stuart painted several members of the Pennington family. The painting could have been copied by any one of the numerous, skilled artists working in Philadelphia during the early nineteenth century when engaging a copyist was a perfectly acceptable and common practice. The portrait was eventually purchased for the U. S. Capitol in 1886 where it remains.
Condition: The canvas has been relined and there is evidence of several old repairs and minor in-painting, none significantly affecting the figure or face. The old surface shows significant cracking commensurate with the age of the portrait. The interior spandrel is period and may be original. The rectangular liner and frame are period appropriate modern reproductions.
Price: sold
