From the collection of:
University of Kentucky Art Museum || VAM Home

Since he painted nearly every prominent man and woman of the Federal period, it is no wonder that Gilbert Stuart is considered the father of American portraiture. George Washington sat for Stuart two times in 1795 and 1796—the first time so that Stuart could paint the right side of Washington’s face, and the second time so that the artist could capture the left side. Stuart used his second painting as the model for numerous portraits of the president, including a bust and a full-length portrait. Stuart was admired for his rich use of color and his vibrant, energetic brushwork, which are visible in this portrait of Washington.

About the Artist

The son of a snuff grinder, Gilbert Stuart was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1755. From 1775 to 1793, he lived and worked abroad in London and Dublin, studying with renowned artists Cosmo Alexander, Benjamin West, and Joshua Reynolds. After Stuart’s return to the United States in 1793, he became the principal artist of the Federal period, painting more than 1,000 portraits. Five presidents sat for him, and Stuart’s portraits were fundamental to the development of an American imagery for the new republic.

Stuart was also a respected art instructor; his prominence led many artists to seek him out as a teacher. One of his favorite pupils, Kentucky painter Matthew Harris Jouett (see examples of Jouett’s portrait work in the Filson Historical Society gallery), recorded the following advice from Stuart:

“Never be sparing of color, load your pictures, but keep your colors as separate as you can. No blending, ’tis destruction to clear and beautiful effects.... Flesh is like no other substance under heaven. It has all the gayety of a silk-mercer’s shop without its gaudiness of gloss, and all the soberness of old mahogany without its sadness.”

Despite his prestige and the expensive rates he charged, Stuart’s taste for a lavish lifestyle kept the artist on the edge of bankruptcy throughout his career. In fact, the time Stuart spent in Ireland was actually a calculated evasion of debtor’s prison.

Classroom Ideas

Discussion: Gilbert Stuart is largely responsible for the mental image that modern people have of George Washington. How has Stuart expressed the character of the first American president in his work? Why might people in positions of importance have favored Stuart as a portraitist? Compare this painting to the Djawid Borower work Painting of a US Dollar in the Jacobs Collection at Georgetown College gallery and to other famous images of Washington. Compare this work to the Bust of Abraham Lincoln in the Speed Art Museum gallery and to the portraits by Matthew Jouett in the Filson Historical Society gallery.

Activities: Create a formal portrait of a friend or of a public figure.

Collect various images (photographic and other media as available) of a current political figure. Create posters or an exhibit and discuss the impressions given in the various portraits.

Links

Take a virtual tour of a Stuart exhibit and see more than 40 works by Gilbert Stuart at the National Gallery of Art.
[www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg60a/gg60a-main1.html]
[www.nga.gov/exhibitions/stuartinfo.shtm]

You’ll find a comprehensive list of online resources, including articles and images, in the Artcyclopedia.
[www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/stuart_gilbert.html]

The PBS Democracy Project web site includes a cross-curricular lesson plan on Painting Presidential Portraits.
[pbskids.org/democracy/educators/presportraits.html]

Read Stuart’s life story and tour his family home at the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace site.
[www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/6365/stuart.html]