Posted on 05/03/2006 5:26:49 PM PDT by Pharmboy
The painter Gilbert Stuart left Ireland and sailed for New York City in March 1793, abandoning debts he'd amassed during 18 years in London and Dublin and scheming to find his greatest subject. After years of painting British bigwigs, the 37-year-old aimed to return to his native soil to paint the first American president, George Washington. He told a friend, ''There I expect to make a fortune by Washington alone."
''George and Martha Washington: Gilbert Stuart's Athenaeum Portraits," on view at the Boston Athenaeum through May 13, is a glimpse into Stuart's success. Though the Stuart paintings are frequently shown at the Museum of Fine Arts, which has owned them jointly with the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., since 1979, this show returns them to the place where they were first publicly shown. The Athenaeum presents them with more than 35 related works from its collection to add context and show how Stuart's portraits of the first couple became the model for later representations, including the portrait on the dollar bill. When Stuart returned to America, the artist from Kingston, R.I., was considered one of the greatest portraitists of his generation and a charmer, despite his reputed alcoholism, stubbornness, vanity, unpredictable delays, and penchant for taking half-payment upfront for portraits he failed to deliver. He won a letter of introduction to President Washington and arrived in Philadelphia, then the federal capital, in November 1794.
After producing an initial portrait of Washington, Stuart got a commission from Martha Washington, who wanted paintings of herself and the president for their home, Mount Vernon. In the Athenaeum's two small, sleepy galleries, you often have these portraits all to yourself, and the experience is like having a royal audience.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
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We could use a man like Washington today. The current crop of leaders couldn't shine his shoes.
George
Mrs. Josiah Quincy (Who, in my opinion, is a somewhat hot 18th century babe).
The Father of our Country. Enjoy.
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A Martha for George, obviously much less finished.
You are correct...although the General was the best, Adams (MA), Hamilton (NY), Mason (VA), Henry (VA), Lee (VA), Rodney (DE), Stockton (NJ), Carroll (MD) and others too numerous to mention were extraordinary.
Thank you...great display.
.....on view at the Boston Athenaeum through May 13......
Thank you, I'll check this out on Friday!
Patriotic art ping!
Liz, this might be of interest to you.
I think some of his work in hanging in the Brooklyn Museum. I was just there last weekend.
You guys on the East Coast get all the good art shows! Thanks for posting this.
I like the way she got old. She looks so gracious and kind. Nothing artificial about her looks, IMO.
Yeah...but you guys in the northwest have The General's portrait on your state flag. That sure counts for sumpin'...
The General could not have had a better wife nor could America have had a better first First Lady.
:-) She was an important part of the United State's equation, I think. Whadda' lady.
P.S. Everyone's gets to ba a "hottie" when he/she is young! It's a "balance" thing.
... not to mention an extraordinarily wealthy young widow.
"My body lies on Mount Vernon. My clothes are upstairs."Horatio Greenough's statue may have been better left unbegun. :') The cat is due to Kitty Tours, the source of the image. :')
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