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George Washington

George Washington
Artist
Rembrandt Peale, 22 Feb 1778 - 3 Oct 1860
Sitter
George Washington, 22 Feb 1732 - 14 Dec 1799
Date
1795
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 75.6 x 64.5 x 3.2cm (29 3/4 x 25 3/8 x 1 1/4")
Frame: 94.9 x 83.8 x 9.5cm (37 3/8 x 33 x 3 3/4")
Topic
George Washington: Male
George Washington: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Revolutionary War
George Washington: Politics and Government\Statesman\Colonial statesman
George Washington: Natural Resource Occupations\Agriculturist\Farmer
George Washington: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\General
George Washington: Politics and Government\President of US
George Washington: Science and Technology\Surveyor
George Washington: Congressional Gold Medal
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Gallery of Art; gift of the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, 1942
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.65.59
Exhibition Label
In 1795, the Philadelphia artist Charles Willson Peale persuaded President George Washington to pose for his seventeen-year-old son Rembrandt, who wanted to paint the president’s portrait. Upon learning that Rembrandt was joined in the painting room by his father, his brother Raphaelle, and his Uncle James (all artists), Gilbert Stuart quipped that the president was in danger of being “Pealed all around.” Rembrandt Peale’s original life portrait is now in the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He once stated that he had painted ten replicas, but only two are known—this example and one in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
En 1795, el artista Charles Willson Peale, radicado en Filadelfia, persuadió al presidente George Washington de que posara para su hijo Rembrandt, de diecisiete años de edad, quien quería pintarle un retrato. Al enterarse de que en el estudio estaban presentes también el padre del joven, su hermano Raphaelle y su tío James (artistas todos), Gilbert Stuart comentó en tono jocoso que el president estaba en peligro de que lo “pelaran por completo” (un juego de palabras con la palabra inglesa “peal” (pelar) y el apellido de los pintores). El retrato del natural realizado por Rembrandt Peale se encuentra ahora en la colección de la Sociedad Histórica de Pensilvania. En algún momento Peale afirmó que había pintado diez réplicas, pero solo se conocen dos: este ejemplar y el de la colección del Detroit Institute of Arts.
Rembrandt Peale (1778–1860)
Provenance
Henry William de Saussure [1763-1839]; by descent to his son [? grandson?] John De Saussure; purchased 1877 George L. Sanderson, Antes Fort, Pennsylvania [d. 1907]; his daughter Mrs. Sanderson Cotter; via (Jonce Irwin McGurk [1875-1947], New York) bought 27 December 1917 by Thomas B. Clarke, [1848-1931], New York; (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); purchased 1936 by The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trus, Pittsburgh; gift 1942 to NGA; transferred 1965 to NPG.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Exhibition
America's Presidents (Reinstallation September 2017)
On View
NPG, South Gallery 240