George Washington Portrait - Williamstown., MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 42.483 W 073° 12.901
18T E 646179 N 4729939
A portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart is on permanent display at the Clark Art Institute at 225 South Street, Williamstown, MA.
Waymark Code: WM10Y6J
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 07/10/2019
Views: 2
Gilbert Stuart painted the most famous painting of George Washington in 1796. It is the portrait (in reverse) that is used on the one dollar bill. The portrait on the dollar is reversed because the engraver copied the image exactly as it appears in the painting, i.e. Washington is facing to his right. When the engraved plate is printed the image is then reversed.
Gilbert Stuart made many copies of the original. This copy hangs in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. A sign on the wall next to the painting is inscribed:
Gilbert Stuart
American 1755-1828
George Washington
1796-1803
Oil on canvas
George Washington’s image first became popular
in America around 1775, the year he was named
commander in chief of the Continental Army.
Formal yet direct, this portrait is among many
variants that Gilbert Stuart based on his famous,
unfinished study of President Washington
done from life in 1796, now in the National
Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. This image
of Washington also appears on the one-dollar
bill. Stuart's portraits quickly became the iconic
representation of Washington as statesman and
founding father of the new republic, guaranteeing
the artist a long and lucrative career.
Acquired by Sterling Clark, 1911
1955.16