The ''Athenaeum Portrait'', also known as The Athenaeum, is an unfinished painting by Gilbert Stuart of

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

. Created in 1796, it is Stuart's most notable work. The painting depicts Washington at age 65, about three years before his death, on a brown background. It served as the model for the

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

that would be used for Washington's portrait on the

United States one-dollar bill The United States one-dollar bill ($1), sometimes referred to as a single, has been the lowest value denomination of United States paper currency since the discontinuation of U.S. fractional currency notes in 1876. An image of the first U. ...

. A corresponding portrait of

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

is also known as the ''Athenaeum Portrait'', and is exhibited near the painting of her husband at the

Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

Name

The painting is called the "Athenaeum" as, after the death of Stuart, the portrait was sent to the

Boston Athenaeum Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

The painting

The Athenaeum is Stuart's most famous work. He started painting the Athenaeum in 1796, in

Germantown, Philadelphia Germantown ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Deitscheschteddel'') is an area in Northwest Philadelphia. Founded by German, Quaker, and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, which is ...

(now a neighborhood within Philadelphia). The painting is oil on canvas, and depicts only Washington's head and neck, painted when he was 65 years old (about three years before his death in 1799) on a brown background. The rest of the painting is unfinished. The frame was made by a frame maker, picture dealer, and entrepreneur named John Doggett.

Use as a model for other works

Comparison between Athenaeum Portrait and United States one-dollar bill

The painting was never delivered to Washington. Instead, Stuart used it as a model for many replicas, capitalizing on Washington's fame. After Washington's death, he used it to paint 130 copies which he sold for $100 each. More than 60 of these copies still exist. Reportedly, Stuart referred to the painting as "his hundred dollar bill" due to the amount he charged for the copies. The ''Athenaeum Portrait'' was also used to produce a number of

U.S. postage stamps Postal service in the United States began with the delivery of stampless letters whose cost was borne by the receiving person, later encompassed pre-paid letters carried by private mail carriers and provisional post offices, and culminated in a ...

of the 19th century and early 20th century. Most notably, the ''Athenaeum Portrait'' served as the model for the engraving that would be used (in mirror image) for the

Provenance

Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington

The painting was owned by Stuart until he died in 1828. It was then owned by his daughter, Jane Stuart. It was then purchased in May 1831 for $1,500 () by the Trustees of the Boston Athenaeum, with money raised via subscription from the Washington Monument Association and 22 other subscribers. It was then given to the Boston Athenaeum by them. In 1876 the Boston Athenaeum deposited the painting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In 1980 it was bought by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the National Portrait Gallery jointly from the Boston Athenaeum. It now resides in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where it is currently on display.

References

External links

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Webpage
for the ''Athenaeum Portrait'' at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston {{George Washington 1796 paintings George Washington in art Portraits of politicians Portraits of men 18th-century portraits Unfinished paintings Paintings in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Paintings by Gilbert Stuart