George Washington

Gilbert Stuart

begun 1795 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

This depiction of Washington, called the Gibbs-Channing-Avery portrait after its successive owners, is one of eighteen similar works by Stuart categorized as the Vaughan group. The first of its type—presumably painted from life, in Philadelphia, and then replicated—belonged to Samuel Vaughan, a merchant and close friend of Washington. Technical analysis has revealed that Stuart changed the color of the sitter’s coat, painting the American-made brown wool broadcloth to appear more like the formal European black silk velvet suit that Washington wore on official occasions.

Artist

Gilbert Stuart

Date

begun 1795

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1907