Gilbert Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the

Rhode Island Colony The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious ...

who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, begun in 1796, which is usually referred to as the '' Athenaeum Portrait''. Stuart retained the original and used it to paint scores of copies that were commissioned by patrons in America and abroad. The image of George Washington featured in the painting has appeared on the

United States one-dollar bill The United States one-dollar bill (US$1), sometimes referred to as a single, has been the lowest value Denomination (currency), denomination of United States dollar, United States paper currency since the discontinuation of U.S. fractional cu ...

for more than a centuryPark, 1926, vol. 1, p. 15. He was baptised without a middle name but occasionally adopted the middle name "Charles" when in London, apparently to connect himself with the last serious Stuart claimant to the British throne. See Dorinda Evans, ''Gilbert Stuart and the Impact of Manic Depression,'' Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2013, p. 127.
/ref> and on various

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the ...

of the 19th century and early 20th century. Stuart produced portraits of about 1,000 people, including the first six Presidents., ''The Story of Gilbert Stuart''. Woonsocket Connection. Retrieved July 25, 2007. His work can be found today at art museums throughout the United States and the United Kingdom, including the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

and

Frick Collection The Frick Collection (colloquially known as the Frick) is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1935 to preserve the collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection (museum) ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the National Portrait Gallery in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Worcester Art Museum in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

, and the

Boston Museum of Fine Arts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

.Gilbert Stuart
. ArtCyclopedia. Paintings in Museums and Public Art Galleries. Retrieved July 24, 2007.

Biography

Early life

Stuart was born on December 3, 1755, in Saunderstown, a village of North Kingstown in the

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious d ...

, and he was baptized at Old Narragansett Church on April 11, 1756. He was the third child of Gilbert Stuart, a Scottish immigrant employed in the snuff-making industry, and Elizabeth Anthony Stuart, a member of a prominent land-owning family from Middletown, Rhode Island. Stuart's father owned the first snuff mill in America, which was located in the basement of the family homestead. Stuart moved to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, at the age of six, where his father pursued work in the merchant field. In Newport, he first began to show great promise as a painter. In 1770, he made the acquaintance of Scottish artist Cosmo Alexander, a visitor to the colonies who made portraits of local patrons and who became a tutor to Stuart. Under the guidance of Alexander, Stuart painted the portrait ''Dr. Hunter's Spaniels'' when he was 14; it hangs today in the Hunter House Mansion in Newport. In 1771, Stuart moved to Scotland with Alexander to finish his studies; however, Alexander died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

one year later. Stuart tried to maintain a living and pursue his painting career, but to no avail, so he returned to Newport in 1773.

England and Ireland

Stuart's prospects as a portraitist were jeopardized by the onset of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

and its social disruptions. Although he was a patriot, he departed for England in 1775 following the example set by

John Singleton Copley John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was believed to be born in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley ...

.National Gallery of Art
. ''Gilbert Stuart''. London (1775–1787). Retrieved July 31, 2007. His painting style during this period began to develop beyond the relatively hard-edged and linear style that he had learned from Alexander. He was unsuccessful at first in pursuit of his vocation, but he became a protégé of

Benjamin West Benjamin West (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as ''The Death of Nelson (West painting), The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the ''Treaty of Paris ( ...

in 1777 and studied with him for the next six years. The relationship was beneficial, with Stuart exhibiting for the first time at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in spring of 1777.Christman, M., & Barlow, M. (2003). Stuart tewart Gilbert. Grove Art Online. Retrieved November 29, 2019. By 1782, Stuart had met with success, largely due to acclaim for '' The Skater'', a portrait of Sir William Grant. It was Stuart's first full-length portrait and, according to a rival, it belied the prevailing opinion that Stuart "made a tolerable likeness of a face, but as to the figure, he could not get below the fifth button'".Christman, Margaret C. S. "Stuart, Gilbert." In ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Retrieved October 1, 2012 Stuart said that he was "suddenly lifted into fame by a single picture". The prices for his pictures were exceeded only by those of renowned English artists

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

and

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (; 14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists o ...

. Despite his many commissions, however, he was habitually neglectful of finances and was in danger of being sent to

debtors' prison A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histor ...

. In 1787, he fled to Dublin, Ireland where he painted and accumulated debt with equal vigor.

New York City and Philadelphia

Stuart ended his 18-year stay in Britain and Ireland in 1793, leaving behind numerous unfinished paintings. He returned to the United States with a particular goal of painting a portrait of

and having an engraver reproduce it and provide for his family through the engraving's sale. He settled briefly in New York City and pursued portrait commissions from influential people who could bring him to Washington's attention. In 1794, he painted statesman

John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

, from whom he received a letter of introduction to Washington. In 1795, Stuart moved to the Germantown section of

, where he opened a studio, and Washington posed for him later that year. George Washington engraving by G

Stuart painted Washington in a series of iconic portraits, each of them leading to a demand for copies and keeping him busy and highly paid for years. The most famous and celebrated of these likenesses, the ''Athenaeum portrait,'' is portrayed on the

. Stuart painted about 50 reproductions of it. However, he avoided completing the original version. After finishing Washington's face, he kept it to make copies which he sold for $100 each. Thus, the original portrait remained in its unfinished state at the time of his death in 1828. An engraver at the US

Bureau of Engraving and Printing The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the Federal Government of the United States, United States governm ...

, George Frederick Cumming Smillie, made an etching of the painting which was used on multiple banknotes. A vignette of the portrait appears on the 1899 2-dollar silver certificate, and the one dollar note of (1918 to 2023).

s featured the image for decades (1918 to 2023). The painting was jointly purchased by the National Portrait Gallery and

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

in 1980, and is generally on display in the National Portrait Gallery. Another celebrated image of Washington is the full-length '' Lansdowne portrait'', now in the National Portrait Gallery. Its historical importance is almost matched by an early forgery based on it which was purchased for the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. This painting was rescued during the

Burning of Washington The Burning of Washington, also known as the Capture of Washington, was a successful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British Amphibious warfare, amphibious attack conducted by Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, Georg ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

thanks to the efforts of First Lady

Dolley Madison Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of b ...

and Paul Jennings, one of President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. Three replicas of the original portrait are accepted as by Stuart. Additional copies were painted by other artists. In 1803, Stuart opened a studio in Washington, D. C. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson paid Suart $100.00 for a portrait but never received it, because in 1805, Suart painted another portrait of Jefferson over the 1800 portrait. In 1821, Stuart sent a copy of the 1805 portrait to Jefferson the so called "Edgehill" portrait. The original 1805 portrait became part of Jane Stuart collection until it was damaged in a fire in 1853. In 1937, Orland Campbell acquired the 1805 portrait and discovered the truth. In June 1959, Campbell had an exhibit at Amherst College of the 1800/1805 portrait and his reconstruction of the "lost" 1800 portrait. Campbell also published an account "The Lost Portraits of Thomas Jefferson Painted by Gilbert Stuart Recovered and Studied by Orland and Courtney Campbell" (1959).

Boston, 1805–1828

Stuart moved to Devonshire Street in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 1805, continuing in both critical acclaim and financial troubles. He exhibited works locally at Doggett's Repository and Julien Hall. Predictably, he was sought out for advice by other American artists, such as

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756 – November 10, 1843) was an American painter and military officer best known for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Revolut ...

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was an English-American portrait painter. He was born in England, became a naturalized American citizen in 1809, and lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including in the Thomas Sull ...

, Washington Allston, and

John Vanderlyn John Vanderlyn (October 18, 1775September 23, 1852) was an American painter. Early life and education Vanderlyn was born at Kingston in the Province of New York in British America, the grandson of colonial portrait painter Pieter Vanderlyn. ...

Personal life

Stuart married Charlotte Coates around September 1786; she was 13 years his junior and "exceedingly pretty". They had 12 children, five of whom died by 1815 and two others of whom died in their youth. Their daughter Jane (1812–1888) was also a painter. She sold many of his paintings and her replicas of them from her studios in Boston and

. In 2011, she was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. In 1824, Stuart suffered a stroke which left him partially paralyzed, but he continued to paint for two years until his death in

on July 9, 1828, at 72. He was buried in the Central Burial Ground at Boston Common. Stuart left his family deeply in debt, and his wife and daughters were unable to purchase a grave site. He was, therefore, buried in an unmarked grave which was purchased cheaply from Benjamin Howland, a local carpenter. His family recovered from their financial troubles 10 years later, and they planned to move his body to a family cemetery in Newport. However, they could not remember the exact location of his body, and it was never moved. There is a monument for Stuart, his wife, and their children at the Common Burying Ground in Newport. The

Boston Athenæum The Boston Athenaeum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of a number of membership libraries, for which patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use Athenaeum services. The institution was founded in ...

held a benefit exhibition of Stuart's works in August 1828 in an effort to provide financial aid for his family. More than 250 portraits were lent for this critically acclaimed and well-subscribed exhibition. This also marked the first public showing of his unfinished 1796 ''Athenæum'' portrait of Washington.

Legacy

By the end of his career, Gilbert Stuart had painted the likenesses of more than 1,000 American political and social figures. He was praised for the vitality and naturalness of his portraits, and his subjects found his company agreeable.

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

said: Stuart was known for working without the aid of sketches, beginning directly upon the canvas. His approach is suggested by the advice which he gave to his pupil Matthew Harris Jouett: "Never be sparing of colour, load your pictures, but keep your colours as separate as you can. No blending, tis destruction to clear & bea iful effect." Although this is an exaggeration to avoid muddiness, Stuart's colors were remarkably fresh. At Stuart's best, he had an extraordinary ability to convey the impression of "luminous, transparent flesh" with color coming from beneath. The face seemed to be embued with life, while the beauty of its coloring conveyed a spiritual quality to contemporaries. Although uneven, he could produce astonishingly strong likenesses. John Henri Isaac Browere created a life mask of Stuart around 1825. In 1940, the U.S. Post Office issued a series of postage stamps called the " Famous Americans Series" commemorating famous artists, authors, inventors, scientists, poets, educators, and musicians. Gilbert Stuart is found on the 1 cent issue in the artists category, along with

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculpture, sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works include ''The Minute Man'', an 1874 statue in Concord, Massachusetts, and his Statue of Abr ...

, and Frederic Remington. Today, Stuart's birthplace in Saunderstown,

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, is open to the public as the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum. The birthplace consists of the original house where he was born, with copies of his paintings hanging throughout the house, as well as a separate art gallery in which are displayed several original paintings by both Gilbert Stuart and his daughter Jane. The museum opened in 1931. File:GStuartgrave.JPG, alt=Marble plaque with an outlay of a feather linked to a piece of chain, and the name "Gilbert Stuart" carved on it., Memorial tablet located in the Boston Common File:GilbertStuart ca1825 byJohn HI Browere.png, John H. I. Browere's life mask portrait of Stuart, File:Gilbert Stuart 1940 Issue-1c.jpg, Gilbert Stuart's paintings of Washington, Jefferson, and others have served as models for dozens of U.S. postage stamps. Washington's image from the famous portrait ''The Athenaeum'' is probably the most noted example of Stuart's work on postage. File:George Washington2 1861 Issue-10c.jpg, 1861 File:George Washington 1861 Issue-12c.jpg, 1861 File:George Washington2 1903 Issue-2c.jpg, 1903 File:Washington 1954 Issue2-1c.jpg, 1954

Notable people painted

This is a partial list of portraits painted by Stuart. * Abigail Adams – Second First Lady of the United States, wife of John Adams *

– Second President of the United States *

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

– Sixth President of the United States * Charles Humphrey Atherton – United States Representative from New Hampshire from 1815 to 1817 *

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...

– First American multi-millionaire, fur trader, art patron * John Bannister – Owner of Bannister's Wharf in

* Commodore John Barry – Father of the American Navy * Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry – Hero of the Battle of Lake Erie in 1814. * Ann Willing Bingham –

socialite * Horace Binney – Prominent Philadelphia lawyer * Elizabeth Bowdoin, Lady Temple – wife of Sir John Temple, first British consul general to United States, 1785 * Hugh Henry Brackenridge – early American writer,

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made offici ...

justice, and founder of the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

Fielding 1929. * Jean Baptiste Casmiere Breschard – Performer and theatrical impresario * Rosalie Stier Calvert – Belgian-born heiress and mother of Charles Benedict Calvert * Mary Willing Clymer – Philadelphia socialite *

– American colonial portraitist * Thomas Dawes – Early American architect, builder, military leader, politician * Horatio Gates –

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

general * King George III – King of

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

, 1760–1820 *

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

– King of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1820–30 *

– First Chief Justice of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

– Third President of the United States *

Rufus King Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convent ...

– a signer of

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

* Robert Kingsmill – Admiral in

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

during American and French Revolutionary Wars * King Louis XVI – King of France, 1774–92 *

– Fourth President of the United States * Samuel Miles – Revolutionary War General and Philadelphia mayor *

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

– Fifth President of the United States * Daniel Pinckney Parker – Prominent Boston merchant * John Randolph of Roanoke – Virginia congressman and senator *

– English artist * Henry Rice – Boston merchant and Massachusetts state legislator * John Tayloe III – Virginia planter, builder of

The Octagon House The Octagon House, also known as the Colonel John Tayloe III House, is a house located at 1799 New York Avenue, Northwest in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was built in 1799 for John Tayloe III, the wealthiest planter in ...

in Washington, DC. *

Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (24 February 1733 – 30 June 1800) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1783 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Sydney. He held several important Cabinet posts in ...

– the cities of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

are named in his honor *

– artist during the period of the

– First President of the United States *

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 Old Style, O.S. – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, who was the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the ...

– First Lady of the United States, wife of George Washington *

– American painter * Catherine Brass Yates – Philadelphia socialite *

John Bill Ricketts John Bill Ricketts (1769–1802) was an English equestrian who brought the first modern circus to the United States. Biography Ricketts began his theatrical career with the Royal Circus, Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, in Londo ...

– Equestrian, leader of Ricketts' Circus in Philadelphia *Elisabeth Merry – Wife of Anthony Merry 1805.

Portrait gallery

File:John Banister, Jr.jpg, ''John Banister, Jr.'', 1774–75 File:Christian Stelle Banister and son.jpg, ''Christian Stelle Banister and Son'', 1774 File:William Curtis 1775, RHS Lindley Collections.jpg, ''William Curtis'', 1775 File:Benjamin Waterhouse by Gilbert Stuart, 1775.png, Benjamin Waterhouse, 1775 File:Benjamin West by Gilbert Stuart 1783-84.jpg, '' Portrait of Benjamin West'', 1783–84 File:Gilbert Stuart Sir Joshua Reynolds.jpg, '' Portrait of Joshua Reynolds'', 1784 File:JohnSingletonCopley.jpeg, American artist

, File:Brooklyn Museum - Colonel Isaac Barré - Gilbert Stuart - overall.jpg, '' Portrait of Isaac Barré'', 1785 File:Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) - John Philip Kemble - NPG 49 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg, John Philip Kemble, 1785 File:John Jones of Frankley.jpg, ''John Jones of Frankley'', 1785,

Birmingham Museum of Art The Birmingham Museum of Art is a museum in Birmingham, Alabama. Its collection includes more than 24,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative arts representing various cultures, including Asian, European, United States, Amer ...

File:Joseph Brant 2.jpg, Mohawk leader

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...

, 1785,

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, London File:Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) - Sarah Siddons, née Kemble - NPG 50 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg,

Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known Tragedy, tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder siste ...

, 1787 File:1stEarlOfClare.jpg, ''Portrait of the Earl of Clare'', 1789 File:Robert R Livingston by Gilbert Stuart.jpeg, Robert R. Livingston, diplomat and

Founding Father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...

, 1793–94 File:Gilbert Stuart - Catherine Brass Yates.jpg, '' Portrait of Catherine Brass Yates'' 1793–94 File:Entry (1).jpeg, '' Portrait of Henry Cruger'', 1794 File:John Jay (Gilbert Stuart portrait).jpg, ''

Portrait of John Jay ''Portrait of John Jay'' is a 1794 portrait painting by the American artist Gilbert Stuart. It depicts the Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father John Jay. At the time Jay was serving as Chief Justice of the United States. The same ...

'', 1794, First Chief Justice of the

File:1794, Stuart, Gilbert, William Bayard.jpg, William Bayard, 1794, Princeton University Art Museum File:HoratioGatesByStuart.jpeg, '' Portrait of Horatio Gates'', 1794,

File:PeterGansevoortByStuart.jpeg, Peter Gansevoort, 1794 File:Gilbert Stuart Admiral Robert Kingsmill.jpg, Sir Robert Kingsmill, Admiral in

during American and French Revolutionary Wars File:Peter Stuyvesant (merchant).jpg, Peter Stuyvesant, New York landowner and merchant, –1795 Image:1795 JamesSwan byGilbertStuart MFABoston.jpeg, James Swan, 1795,

Image:Gilbert Stuart - Mrs. James Swan (Hepzibah Clarke) - 27.539 - Museum of Fine Arts.jpg, Mrs. Hepzibah larkeSwan, 1808, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston File:George Washington 1795.jpg, George Washington, 1795,

New York City File:Gilbert Stuart - Martha Washington (Martha Dandridge Custis) - 1980.2 - Museum of Fine Arts.jpg, Martha washington about 1796 File:Gilbert Stuart - George Washington (The Athenaeum Portrait) - Google Art Project.jpg, alt=Detailed painting of head and shoulders of Washington. Over half of the canvas is blank., Stuart's unfinished 1796 painting of George Washington, also known as the '' Athenaeum Portrait'', his most celebrated and famous work File:George Gibbs.jpg, ''George Gibbs'', 1798, Newport Art Museum, Rhode Island File:Abigail Adams by Gilbert Stuart.jpg, The second First Lady of the United States, Abigail Adams, c. 1800–1815 File:John Adams A18236.jpg, The second President of the United States,John Adams c. 1800–1815 File:James Madison by Gilbert Stuart 1804.jpeg, The fourth President of the United States,

, 1804,

Bowdoin College Museum of Art The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is an art museum located in Brunswick, Maine. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum is a part of Bowdoin College and has been located in the Walker Art Building since 1894. The museum is ...

File:Dolley Madison.jpg, '' Portrait of Dolley Madison'', 1804 File:Anna Payne Cutts by Gilbert Stuart 1804.jpeg, '' Anna Payne Cutts'', sister of First Lady

, 1804,

The White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 whe ...

File:George Calvert.jpg,

George Calvert George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632) was an English politician. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State (England), Secretary of State under James VI and I, King Ja ...

, politician and planter, 1804 File:Rosalie Stier Calvert.jpg, Rosalie Stier Calvert, Belgian-born heiress and wife of

File:Jérôme Bonaparte by Gilbert Stuart 1804.jpeg,

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), Kingdom of Westphalia, King of Westphal ...

, brother of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, 1804 File:John Carroll Gilbert Stuart.jpg, John Carroll, first Catholic bishop of the United States, ,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Art Collection, Washington, D.C. File:WashingtonAtDorchesterHeightsByStuart.jpeg, ''George Washington At Dorchester Heights'', 1806,

File:Harrison Gray Otis By Stuart.jpg, ''Harrison Gray Otis'', 1809 File:Gilbert Stuart Mrs Harrison Gray Otis.jpg, ''Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis'', 1809, Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC File:Gilbert Stuart - John Clark Howard d. 1810 (page 513 crop).jpg, John Clark Howard d. 1810 File:Gilbert Stuart - Major-General Henry Dearborn - 1913.793 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg, '' Portrait of Henry Dearborn'', 1812 File:Little Turtle.jpg, This

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

of Little Turtle is reputedly based upon a lost portrait by Gilbert Stuart that was destroyed when the British burned Washington in 1814. File:Henry Rice MET DP208350.jpg, Henry Rice, Boston merchant and Massachusetts state legislator, c. 1815 File:John Trumbull Gilbert Stuart 1818.jpeg, American artist

, c. 1818 File:John Quincy Adams by Gilbert Stuart, 1818.jpg, The sixth President of the United States,

, 1818 File:Louisa Cathering Johnson Adams by Gilbert Stuart, 1821-26.jpg, The sixth First Lady of the United States, '' Louisa Catherine Adams'' c. 1821–1826, daughter-in law of John and Abigail Adams File:Gilbert Stuart Thomas Jefferson.jpg, The third President of the United States,

, c. 1821,

, Washington, D.C. File:Gilbert Stuart, James Madison, c. 1821, NGA 56914.jpg, The fourth President of the United States,

, c. 1821,

File:GSJamesMonroe.jpg, The fifth President of the United States,

, c. 1820–1822 File:Gilbert Stuart - Bishop Jean-Louis Anne Magdelaine Lefebvre de Cheverus - 21.9 - Museum of Fine Arts.jpg, '' Portrait of Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus'', 1823 File:Gilbert Stuart John Adams.jpg, The second President of the United States,

, 1826 File:Walters Gilbert Stuart George Washington.jpg, ''

'', 1825, one of Stuart's many copies of the '' Athenaeum Portrait'',

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * Park, Lawrence, John Hill Morgan, and Royal Cortissoz (1926). ''Gilbert Stuart : An Illustrated Descriptive List of His Works''. New York: W. E. Rudge.

External links

*
Gilbert Stuart at the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Gilbert Stuart Biography, National Gallery of Art

Gilbert Stuart Museum Website

Gilbert-Stuart.org
155 works by Gilbert Stuart

Union List of Artist Names, Getty Vocabularies.
ULAN Full Record Display for Gilbert Stuart. Getty Vocabulary Program, Getty Research Institute. Los Angeles, California.
''Gilbert Stuart''
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Gilbert 1755 births 1828 deaths 18th-century American male artists 18th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists 19th-century American painters American male painters American people of Scottish descent American portrait painters Hall of Fame for Great Americans inductees Painters from Rhode Island People from North Kingstown, Rhode Island People from colonial Rhode Island Burials at Central Burying Ground, Boston