George Washington
The Swedish portraitist Wertmuller worked in Paris until the upheavals of the French Revolution drove him to Madrid and then Philadelphia. In early November 1794 he completed his first portrait of Washington, which he replicated many times. With its fussy lace ruff and powder-speckled coat, Wertmuller's portrayal of Washington was both admired and condemned. Some proclaimed it the finest likeness of the president, while others, who preferred the work of Peale, Stuart, and Trumbull, deemed it overly precious and not at all like him.
Artwork Details
- Title: George Washington
- Artist: Adolph Ulrich Wertmuller (Stockholm 1751–1811 Naamans Creek, Delaware)
- Date: 1795
- Culture: American
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 25 3/4 x 21 1/8 in. (65.4 x 53.7 cm)
- Credit Line: Bequest of Charles Allen Munn, 1924
- Object Number: 24.109.82
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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Adolph Ulrich Wertmuller
ca. 1805
Returned to lender
Adolph Ulrich Wertmuller
1784
John Singleton Copley
1771
Ralph Earl
1789
Gilbert Stuart
begun 1795
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