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Artist
Gilbert Stuart, 3 Dec 1755 - 9 Jul 1828
Sitter
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, 2 Jun 1731 - 22 May 1802
Date
1796
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
121.9cm x 94cm (48" x 37"), Accurate
Topic
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington: Female
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; owned jointly with Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Object number
NPG.80.116
Exhibition Label
Although Gilbert Stuart made many copies of the president’s portrait over the years, this is thought to be his only painting of Martha Washington. Commissioned at the same time as the “Athenaeum” portrait of George Washington, Stuart’s portrait of the first lady has a similar history; the artist never finished it, and he kept it until his death. In as early as 1800, when she was grieving the death of her husband, Martha Washington asked her friend Tobias Lear to press Stuart to deliver both portraits. Lear wrote to Stuart, “with all the persuasive language of which I [am] master, [I] prevail upon you to let Mrs. Washington have the Painting of her dear deceased husband, our late illustrious and beloved Chief.”
Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828)
Oil on canvas, 1796
Owned jointly with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
NPG.80.116
Aunque Gilbert Stuart realizó muchas copias del retrato del presidente a lo largo de los años, se piensa que esta es su única pintura de Martha Washington. Creada por encargo al mismo tiempo que el retrato del “Ateneo” de George Washington, la pintura de la primera dama tiene una historia similar: el artista nunca la terminó y la tuvo en su poder hasta su muerte. Ya en 1800, cuando Martha Washington lloraba la muerte reciente de su esposo, le pidió a su amigo Tobias Lear que presionara a Stuart para que entregara los dos retratos. Lear le escribió a Stuart “con todas las palabras de persuasión que tengo a mi alcance, le exhorto a que le permita a la Sra. Washington tener el retrato de su querido esposo, nuestro ilustre y amado comandante fallecido”.
Provenance
The artist; his daughter Jane Stuart; purchased in May, 1831, by the Trustees of the Boston Athenaeum with funds raised by subscription from the Washington Monument Association and 22 additional subscribers; purchased 1980 jointly by NPG and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
