Gilbert Stuart’s Athenaeum Portrait of George Washington

Seeing Gilbert Stuart’s Athenaeum Portrait of George Washington in person is a moment that stops you in your tracks. Even though it’s famously unfinished, the portrait feels strikingly familiar and alive. Deliberate brushwork reveals a leader who was both resolute and human. Washington’s calm yet focused gaze should be very familiar. It’s the painting that later inspired the image on the one-dollar bill.

Gilbert Stuart is one of America’s foremost portraitists. The Athenaeum Portrait of George Washington is his best-known work, but it is only one of many.  During his lifetime, he painted more than 1,000 portraits, including those of the first six Presidents of the United States, until his death in July 1828. 

Athenaeum Portrait History

Stuart started the painting in 1796, when Washington was 64 years old.  Washington passed away in 1799, and the painting was never finished. Fellow artist Rembrandt Peale said Washington agreed to sit down with Stuart for another portrait because Martha Washington wanted a painting of him for herself. Washington agreed, with the understanding that once it was finished, it would go to his wife. 

Stuart had other ideas. He did not want to part with the picture and left it unfinished so he could use it as a reference for future commissions. Ultimately, Stuart kept the original and used it to paint more than 125 copies. After he died in 1828, his daughter sold the original to the Boston Athenaeum a couple of years later, which is how it got its name, the “Athenaeum Portrait.” 

About 150 years later, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC jointly purchased the painting. 

Viewing Stuart’s Athenaeum Portrait of Washington 

Today, the Athenaeum Portrait splits time between the two museums. We saw the masterpiece in person at the National Portrait Gallery, where it was on display in the President’s Gallery. 

The first painting you see as you walk into the gallery is another Gilbert Stuart painting of Washington, known as the Lansdowne portrait.  

The Athenaeum Portrait of Washington was on display next to it. The print of Washington is world-famous, but the Athenaeum Portrait of Martha Washington is lesser known. 

Stuart’s portrait of the First Lady was commissioned at the same time as Washington’s and shares a similar history. It was never finished, and Stuart kept it until his death. A critical difference between the two Anthenaeum Portraits: while many copies of George Washington were made, the portrait of Martha Washington is believed to be the only one in existence. 

In 1800, shortly after her husband’s death, grieving Martha Washington requested that both portraits be delivered to her. That request was never honored. 

Surrounded by other defining images of American leaders, the Athenaeum Portrait(s) feel right at home in the nation’s capital. 

If you’re anywhere near D.C., it’s a must-see stop for art lovers, history buffs, and anyone exploring the story of America through its most enduring faces.