Vaughan Portrait
| Vaughan Portrait | |
|---|---|
_A33850.jpg) | |
| Artist | Gilbert Stuart |
| Year | 1795 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Subject | George Washington |
| Dimensions | 73 x 60.5 cm |
| Condition | On display |
| Location | |
| Owner | National Gallery of Art |
| Accession | 1942.8.27 |
Vaughan Portrait, also known as the George Washington Vaughan portrait, is a portrait of the first U.S. president, George Washington, painted by American painter Gilbert Stuart in 1795 and named after Samuel Vaughan. It was the first portrait of Washington created by Stuart. In 1795 Samuel Vaughan bought the painting. The portrait's current location is at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Stuart made several other variations of the original portrait.
History
[edit]Painter Gilbert Stuart painted the Vaughan Portrait in 1795 and named it after Samuel Vaughan, an Anglo-Irish merchant and political radical.[1][2][3] The painting is of George Washington and is the first painting painted by Stuart of Washington.[4][5][6] Stuart painted many other variations after the original one, most notably the Vaughan-Sinclair portrait, which was painted the same year as the first.[7] In 1795 Vaughan bought the painting for an undisclosed amount of money.[1] In 2023, The MET sold the painting for over $2.5 million; it was also called one of the rarest paintings of Washington.[8] As of 2026, the painting currently sits in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.[2][better source needed][9]
Description
[edit]The painting shows Washington from the chest up against a deep red wine background. His body is turned slightly to the viewer's right while he faces directly toward the viewer. He has pale skin, gray eyes, flushed cheeks, a hooked nose, and white hair that points out at the sides and is tied at the back with a ribbon. He wears a high-collared black coat and a cream-white ruffled cravat. The background fades from a brighter red around his face to darker tones near the corners.[1]
Variations
[edit]
Vaughan-Sinclair portrait
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See also
[edit]- Athenaeum Portrait – 1796 unfinished portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart
- Lansdowne portrait – 1796 painting by Gilbert Stuart
- List of paintings of George Washington
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "George Washington (Vaughan portrait) by Gilbert Stuart". www.nga.gov. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- 1 2 Germain, Edward St. "The Vaughan Portrait & Copies | Paintings by Gilbert Stuart". AmericanRevolution.org. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- ↑ Harvard. "George Washington (1732–1799) | Harvard Art Museums". harvardartmuseums.org. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- ↑ "Gilbert Stuart – George Washington (Vaughan Portrait)". www.pubhist.com. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- ↑ "George Washington (Vaughan type)". npg.si.edu. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- ↑ MonkEL (February 6, 2015). "Gilbert Stuart's Washington: Rare Views of Our First President". npg.si.edu. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
- ↑ "George Washington (Vaughan-Sinclair portrait) by Gilbert Stuart". www.nga.gov. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
- ↑ Kuta, Sarah. "The Met Is Selling This Rare Portrait of George Washington". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Gilbert Stuart – George Washington – American – The Metropolitan Museum of Art". www.metmuseum.org. Archived from the original on March 7, 2026. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
External links
[edit]
Media related to George Washington, Vaughan portrait (Gilbert Stuart - National Gallery of Art) at Wikimedia Commons
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