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Artist
Unidentified Artist
Sitter
George Washington, 22 Feb 1732 - 14 Dec 1799
Date
1800
Type
Print
Medium
Hand-colored etching with watercolor on paper
Dimensions
Image: 25.4 x 24.3cm (10 x 9 9/16")
Sheet: 30.1 × 24.9cm (11 7/8 × 9 13/16")
Mat (Verified): 45.7 x 35.6cm (18 x 14")
Topic
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Bed
Home Furnishings\Pillow
Symbols & Motifs\Seal
Container\Bottle\Decanter
Food\Beverage\Alcoholic
Costume\Jewelry\Watch\Pocket watch
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
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.85.137
Exhibition Label
American engravers enjoyed a steady market in the late eighteenth century with the booming demand for illustrations and popular prints. Following the Revolutionary War, George Washington’s status as a national icon spurred the fledgling industry into supplying inexpensive portraits to meet public demand. Washington’s death on December 14, 1799, would prompt an outpouring of oratorical and pictorial tributes. This deathbed scene, which alludes to published accounts of the president’s final moments, shows a physician taking Washington’s pulse with the aid of a stopwatch. Americans purchased souvenir handkerchiefs that featured this image on one side and a complementary mourning picture on the other.
Los grabadores estadounidenses tenían un Mercado estable a fines del siglo XVIII con la creciente demanda de ilustraciones y grabados populares. Después de la Guerra de Independencia, el estatus de George Washington como símbolo nacional sirvió de estímulo a la incipiente industria, que comenzó a producir retratos de bajo costo para satisfacer la demanda del público. La muerte de Washington el 14 de diciembre de 1799 habría de producer un torrente de tributos oratorios y pictóricos. Esta escena en el lecho de muerte, inspirada en relatos publicados de los últimos momentos del presidente, muestra a un médico tomándole el pulso a Washington con ayuda de un cronómetro. También se vendieron pañuelos recordatorios con esta escena en un lado y una escena de duelo en el otro.
