Arts by Dylan: George Washington Canvas

Artist: Gilbert Stuart 1795 "Vaughn Sinclair"

This is perhaps one of the most famous images of our first President.  However, there is a story behind this iconic image. 

In 1795 Gilbert Stuart painted this image of George Washington and it was extremely popular with the public. The image was copied by other painters and artists countless numbers of times.  It was also copied by Gilbert Stuart and his pupils for merchants and businessman in early America.

According to the Metropolitan Museum the original painting was given to Samuel Vaughn a London Merchant living in Philadelphia and a close friend to Washington.  This particular copy is a public domain image taken from the National Gallery known as the Vaughn-Sinclair version.  It was a copy of the original 1795 painting and was meant to be displayed in a public building in New York City.  It was delivered by a businessman from Belfast by the name of William Sinclair. 

The exhibition history according to the National Gallery begins in 1920 at benefit for Bellvue Hospital in New York City, and includes traveling all throughout the USA including states like Alabama, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Tennessee and multiple times in Washington DC. It now is part of the National Gallery Museum in Washington DC. 

This is a slightly edited image of a downloaded public domain image from a government website.