STUART, Gilbert - b. 1755 North Kingstown, d. 1828 Boston - WGA

STUART, Gilbert

(b. 1755 North Kingstown, d. 1828 Boston)

American portrait painter. With Copley he was the outstanding American portraitist of his period and he is regarded as the creator of a distinctively American style of portraiture. Much of his early career was spent in Scotland (c. 1771-72). England (1775-87), and Ireland (1787-92). After he settled permanently in America in 1792, he worked briefly in New York City, then moved to Philadelphia, and finally settled in Boston in 1805. He quickly established himself as the outstanding portraitist in the country and painted many of the notables of the new republic. His portraits of George Washington are his most famous works - he created three types, all of which were endlessly copied: the ‘Vaughan’ type (National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1795), the ‘Lansdowne’ type (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1796), and the ‘Athenaeum’ type (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1796), which is one of the most famous images in American art, being used on the country’s one-dollar bill.

Stuart’s style is notable for its strength of characterization (Benjamin West said he ‘nails the face to the canvas’) and its fluent brushwork. His work had great influence on the next generation of American painters.

George Washington

Gilbert Stuart was a leading painter of his period and earned his livelihood by painting portraits. He enjoyed his first success in London, where he had gone at the beginning of the Revolutionary War in search of sitters; he returned to America in 1793 and painted many prominent people, including the first five American presidents. Even after his exposure to British styles and techniques, he retained the straightforward realism of much of colonial portraiture. His work is characterized by skillful drawing, excellent composition, and a sensitive use of colour.

He painted George Washington for the first time in 1795, and the work was greeted with such enthusiasm that at least 32 replicas were ordered, although only 18 are known to exist. The original painting was the basis for the one seen here, which is among the earliest and finest replicas. It has been suggested that the immediacy and vitality of the president’s features indicate that it was painted, at least in part, from life. Stuart’s work had a strong influence on many American portrait painters of the early 19th century.

Send Postcard Learn More

Portrait of the Mohawk Chieftain Thayendanegea, Known as Joseph Brant

Thayendanegea (1742-1807) was one of the seminal figures of early American history. The paramount war chief of the Iroquois Nation, as well as a missionary and diplomat of consummate skill, he was the Native American best known to Europeans of his generation. An inspirational leader, he lobbied tirelessly with both British and American authorities to secure his nation’s survival.

Send Postcard Learn More