|
|
 |
|
|
|
.R.jpg) |
|
Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755–1828)
George Washington (the Lansdowne portrait), 1796
Oil on canvas; 97 1/2 x 62 1/2 in. (247.6 x 158.7 cm)
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, acquired as a gift to the nation through the generosity of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation
NPG.2001.13
|
|
|
The Lansdowne portrait was quickly recognized as the best pictorial summation of Washington's public role as first president of the United States. Stuart's masterpiece resulted from the bonds forged by some American and British politicians and merchant bankers. About the time William Bingham paid Stuart one thousand dollars for the picture, he and the Marquis of Lansdowne, who would receive it as a gift, corresponded about their mutual admiration for Washington and their interest in political and economic issues, including open transatlantic trade. Stuart's portrait refers in its intricate iconography to Washington's ratification of the Jay Treaty and celebrates an important transatlantic political alliance during the president's second term of office.
|
|
|
|
|
|
