This bust, begun in Florence and finished in Philadelphia, was done from life. Many of Washington's contemporaries considered this to be one of his most lifelike portraits. Indeed, viewed apart from the unfamiliar imperial Roman trappings, the facial features are distinctly recognizable. Ceracchi came to Philadelphia in 1790 hoping to carve the monument to Washington that Congress had just commissioned. To demonstrate his skill, the Italian sculptor modeled terracotta portraits, later translated into marble, of Washington and other influential Americans, but ultimately did not succeed in gaining the coveted monument commission. Ceracchi's referencing of idealized imperial Roman portraiture derives from his years of employment under the pope in designing and executing sculpture for the Pantheon.

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