Mrs. Andrew Sigourney

Gilbert Stuart prints offer the faces of early America. Stuart is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists, and his unfinished portrait of George Washington became the image on the one-dollar bill. He painted about 1,000 people, including the first six presidents. This collection gathers art prints of his portraits of Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison, of first ladies and merchants, and of the British and Irish sitters he painted in London and Dublin.

About Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Stuart was born on 3 December 1755 in Saunderstown, North Kingstown, in the Colony of Rhode Island. His father, a Scottish immigrant, ran the first snuff mill in America. The family moved to Newport, where the visiting Scottish painter Cosmo Alexander became his tutor, and in 1771 Stuart went with him to Scotland. Alexander died a year later, and Stuart returned home in 1773.

In 1775, at the start of the American Revolution, Stuart left for England. From 1777 he studied for six years with Benjamin West in London and first showed at the Royal Academy. He became a successful portrait painter but spent money freely, and in 1787 he fled his debts to Dublin. He returned to America in 1793.

In 1795 he opened a studio in Germantown, Philadelphia, where George Washington sat for him. In 1805 he moved to Boston, where he stayed for the rest of his life, praised by critics but always short of money. A stroke in 1824 left him partly paralyzed, yet he kept painting until he died in Boston on 9 July 1828.

Style and Subjects

Stuart painted portraits almost exclusively. He focused on the face, catching character and expression with lively, loose brushwork and glowing flesh tones, while keeping backgrounds and clothing simple. His sitters look direct and alive rather than stiff.

His subjects include presidents and generals, merchants, judges and their wives, as well as aristocrats and actors from his years in Britain and Ireland. Washington was his most famous sitter: Stuart kept his unfinished Athenaeum portrait and used it to paint scores of copies for patrons in America and abroad.

Famous Works

• The Skater (Portrait of William Grant) (1782), National Gallery of Art, Washington. A gentleman skating on a frozen lake, the picture that made Stuart's name in London.
• Sir Joshua Reynolds (1784), National Gallery of Art, Washington. A portrait of the leading British painter of the day.
• John Jay (1794). A portrait of the first Chief Justice of the United States.
• George Washington (Vaughan Portrait) (1795), National Gallery of Art, Washington. One of the first portraits from Washington's sittings in Philadelphia.
• George Washington (Athenaeum Portrait) (1796), National Portrait Gallery, Washington, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The unfinished portrait used for the image on the dollar bill.
• Lansdowne Portrait (1796), National Portrait Gallery, Washington. A full-length portrait of Washington as president.
• Dolley Payne Madison (1804), White House, Washington. A portrait of the future first lady.

Decorating with Stuart Prints

Stuart's portraits suit traditional rooms: a study, library, dining room or entrance hall with paneled walls, dark wood and gilt frames. A Washington or Jefferson portrait makes a natural focal point in a home office or reading room.

His portraits of women and families work well in a living room or bedroom, and The Skater, with its wintry gray-blue sky, adds an unexpected touch of movement to a hallway or staircase.

FAQ

What art movement was Gilbert Stuart part of?

Stuart worked in the Neoclassical period and trained in the British portrait tradition under Benjamin West in London. He is regarded as one of America's foremost portrait painters.

What is Gilbert Stuart's most famous painting?

His unfinished portrait of George Washington, begun in 1796 and known as the Athenaeum Portrait, is his best-known work. Its image of Washington has appeared on the US one-dollar bill for more than a century.

Where can I see Stuart's original paintings?

Major works are at the National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Frick Collection in New York, and the National Portrait Gallery in London.

How can you recognize a Gilbert Stuart portrait?

Look for a lively, closely observed face with glowing skin tones, loose brushwork in the clothes and a plain or softly painted background. His sitters seem natural and alert.

How many portraits of George Washington did Stuart paint?

Washington sat for Stuart in the 1790s, and Stuart kept the unfinished Athenaeum portrait to make scores of copies for patrons. His Washington portraits are among the best-known images of the first president.

Related Artists

• Benjamin West — his teacher in London for six years
• John Singleton Copley — American portraitist whose move to England Stuart followed
• Thomas Sully — American portrait painter who studied with Stuart
• Sir Joshua Reynolds — leading London portraitist whom Stuart painted
• Charles Willson Peale — fellow painter of Washington and the founding generation