The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Horatio Gates

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 753

Description

This portrait, representing Revolutionary War hero General Horatio Gates (1728–1806), was painted long after he led his troops to victory at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. Although his military career was turbulent, the English-born Gates is represented in the uniform of a brigadier general, decorated with the medal that Congress ordered struck to commemorate his triumph at Saratoga. In his hand is a copy of the Saratoga Convention. The painting descended in the family of Gates' good friend, Colonel Ebenezer Stevens. The work is a blend of Stuart's more painterly English style and the Copleyesque forthrightness that defined American high style.
Provenance

Ebenezer Stevens, New York, by 1796–died 1823; his son, Horatio Gates Stevens, New York, 1823–died 1873; his son, John Rhinelander Stevens, New York, 1873–died 1898; his daughter, Mrs. Edward Elwell (Lucille Stevens) Spafford, New York, 1898–died 1914; her daughter, Mrs. Charles A. (Lucille Spafford) Pfeiffer Jr., New York, 1914–1977
See also
Who
Gilbert Stuart (45)
What
Paintings (12,451)

Canvas (4,585)

Oil paintings (2,908)
Where
North and Central America (83,036)

United States (79,755)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (67,255)
In the Museum
American Paintings and Sculpture (5,273)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828)

The United States, 1600–1800 A.D.
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