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Jane STUART American (1812–1888) George Washington 19th century Oil on canvas 29 7⁄8 x 24 3⁄4 in. (76 x 63 cm) Collection Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers Gift of Mary G. Jameson in memory of her husband Edwin C. Jameson 1194
This painting is a copy of the famous Athenaeum Portrait of George Washington (1796, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/National Portrait Gallery, Washington) by Gilbert Stuart. In late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century America, there was a high demand for images of Washington, the hero of the Revolution and the nation’s first president. However, before mass reproduction of images was possible, artists had to execute copies by hand. Gilbert Stuart produced between 70 and 75 copies of the Athenaeum Portrait over 30 years, referring to them as his “one hundred dollar bills.” But when he died penniless in 1828, his daughter and assistant Jane Stuart continued to paint copies of her father’s work to support her large family. This painting is one of about 60 copies of the Athenaeum Portrait produced by the younger Stuart. Stephen Mandravelis