The Faces of Washington’s World

Each portrait was built from multiple layers of research and collaboration. Mount Vernon scholars drew on primary sources, including George Washington’s own records, 18th-century newspapers, runaway advertisements, and the Mount Vernon Slavery Database.

Mount Vernon experts and scholars of 18th-century clothing and material culture ensured historically accurate dress, hairstyles, and accessories.
 

The Base Portraits

Many of the portraits of the enslaved began at Mount Vernon, where actors were photographed in period clothing by photographer Steven M. Cummings. Some were photographed in the very landscapes and working spaces where the individuals portrayed would have lived and labored. These base images provided the posture, lighting, and foundation for each portrait.

(1694 – 1743)

George Washington’s father, Augustine, was born in Virginia but lived for a time with his mother in England. He returned to America, became a tobacco planter, and started an ironworks furnace. He inherited land and enslaved people from his father and gained more wealth when he married Jane Butler. The couple had four children. When Jane died, Augustine married Mary Ball. George was the first of their six children. Augustine moved several times. He oversaw construction of the initial one-and-a-half-story house that would become the Mount Vernon mansion.

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Portrait

No confirmed life portrait of Augustine Washington survives. To approximate his likeness, Mount Vernon examined surviving portraits of his children—particularly Lawrence Washington, George Washington, Betty Washington Lewis, and Charles Washington—to identify shared family traits and complexion. Because Augustine did not live beyond the age of 50, younger wartime portraits of George Washington were consulted to approximate earlier family resemblance and inherited features.

Augustine’s portrait draws heavily on mid-18th-century Virginia male portrait conventions, including planter-era examples from the 1730s and 1740s. Comparable regional portraits helped guide his posture, attire, and overall presence as a Virginia landowner. Period garments and silhouette references ensured that his clothing reflects the style and status of a colonial gentleman of his standing. Mount Vernon scholars, including Amanda Isaac, Curator of Fine and Decorative Arts, reviewed the portrait during its development to ensure historical and material accuracy.

Contemporary descriptions characterize Augustine as six feet tall, fair in complexion, physically strong, and gentle in temperament. These attributes informed both his stature and expression in the portrait, resulting in a representation grounded in documented family resemblance, period portrait traditions, and material culture research.

(1776 – after 1802)

Born into slavery at Mount Vernon, Christopher Sheels was the son of Alce, an enslaved spinner. At just 13 years old, he was selected to serve in George Washington’s presidential household, where he likely worked as a waiter. After the presidency, in 1797, Sheels became Washington’s enslaved valet (personal servant) and took care of Washington’s daily needs—including his appearance—by caring for his clothes and accessories. Sheels married an enslaved woman, and they made plans to leave bondage together but were discovered. Sheels was likely inherited by George Washington Parke Custis after Washington’s death, but the record is incomplete.

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Portrait

No confirmed visual likeness of Christopher Sheels survives. To create his portrait, Mount Vernon relied on documentary records, contextual research, and descendant-submitted photographs.

Sheels is identified in historical records as “mulatto,” a term used in 18th-century documents to describe a person of mixed race. While detailed physical descriptions of him do not survive, this designation, combined with his age and documented roles as a waiter and later George Washington’s valet, helped guide general considerations of complexion and presentation.

A significant contribution to the portrait came from the Michie/Daniels family, descendants connected to Mount Vernon’s enslaved community. Henrietta Michie (b. 1841), was the great-grandniece of Christopher Sheels. The family provided multiple generations of photographs, which were used to build shared attributes and facial features for Sheels’ likeness. These descendant photographs helped inform skin tone, facial structure, and inherited traits.

Clothing and grooming were based on research into the attire of Washington’s valet, including late 18th-century livery standards and household dress practices.

(C. 1743 – After 1802)

As an enslaved overseer, Davy Gray bore the responsibility of meeting Washington’s productivity expectations. He provided agricultural advice to Washington and successfully advocated for Muddy Hole Farm’s families, including his wife Molly.

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Portrait

The portrait of Davy Gray was created using historical documentation related to his life and work at Mount Vernon. Gray arrived at the estate in 1759 as part of Martha Washington’s dower share of enslaved workers. He began as a field worker and, by 1778, was assigned the role of overseer. By 1799, Gray served as overseer at Muddy Hole Farm, where he lived with his wife, Molly, and also managed agricultural work at River Farm and Dogue Run Farm.

As an overseer, Gray was responsible for supervising enslaved laborers and overseeing crop production. He stood out in this role, which was typically held by white men, and received certain privileges associated with his position, including leather breeches, occasional cash gifts, and housing with a brick chimney, which was more substantial than standard log cabins.

Historical records also document Gray’s advocacy on behalf of other workers. In 1793, he successfully persuaded George Washington to change a cornmeal distribution practice that left laborers hungry.

These records formed the basis for creating Gray’s portrait, emphasizing his role as a manager, advocate, and trusted figure within Mount Vernon’s enslaved community.

(C. 1721 – After 1802)

Doll, Mount Vernon’s enslaved chief cook for many years, was 38 years old when Martha Washington brought her to Mount Vernon. 

Her expertise in cooking, baking, food preservation, and menu planning informed several generations of Mount Vernon cooks. The steady stream of visitors meant that Doll’s days started early to prepare large and elaborate meals. 

At Martha Washington’s death, 81-year-old Doll remained enslaved and became the property of one of the Custis grandchildren. She was valued at $5 by the estate’s executors. Doll had 5 surviving children, 14 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.

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Portrait

Because no historical descriptions of Doll's physical appearance exist in surviving records, Mount Vernon turned to her descendants to help inform her likeness. As part of this process, family members completed an ancestor questionnaire, sharing common family traits such as medium-deep skin tone, brown eyes, and a broad nose with a wide base and straight or slightly concave bridge.

Importantly, Ada Daniels (1899–1946), Doll’s fourth great-granddaughter, served as a key generational link. The Michie/Daniels family provided multiple generations of family photographs, which offered valuable visual references for shared features, especially in the eyes and cheeks, that helped shape the portrait. These modern materials, combined with oral history and familial insights, allowed Mount Vernon to create a portrait that honors Doll’s legacy with authenticity and care.

(1695 – 1755)

General Braddock’s military career began at age 15 when he followed his father into the army. He rose through the ranks and took command of the British forces in North America. He grew up in London and at age 15 followed his father into the army for a lengthy career that culminated in North America in 1755. 

When he arrived in the colonies, Braddock conferred with colonial leaders and Native representatives to plan a four-pronged attack on French forts from Canada to Virginia. He would lead the first expedition personally.

After a grueling overland journey to Fort Duquesne, he suffered mortal wounds during an attack. George Washington received Braddock’s military sash and a pair of his pistols in honor of his actions.    

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Portrait

No confirmed life portrait of General Edward Braddock is known to survive. To construct his likeness, the portrait was developed using visual references from mid-18th-century British military portraiture.

The image was designed to represent Braddock at approximately age 60, the year of his death following the Battle of the Monongahela in 1755. At least one account describes him in his later years as rather short and stout, characteristics that informed the general proportions and physical presence of this portrait.

Because no known descendant photographs or direct visual references exist, the portrait relied on general genealogical and physical conventions common among British officers of the period. Contemporary military portraits from the 1750s were consulted to guide the overall silhouette, pose, and presentation, as well as the details of British military attire appropriate to Braddock’s rank.

(1732 – 1799)

At 15, George Washington was a determined young Virginian working to establish his place in a world shaped by hierarchy and opportunity. After his father’s death when he was 11, Washington could no longer pursue the formal education or advantages available to his older half-brothers. Instead, he educated himself through reading, practice, and careful attention to behavior and reputation.

Eager to succeed, he studied etiquette and copied the Rules of Civility to guide how he presented himself to others. Around this time, he began training as a land surveyor, a practical career that allowed him to earn income and build connections. These early experiences—marked by discipline, ambition, and adaptability—set him on a path toward leadership in Virginia and beyond.

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Portrait

No portraits of George Washington as a teenager survive. To construct his likeness at age 15, Mount Vernon drew upon the earliest known portrait of Washington, painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1772, when Washington was 40 years old. This image provided a key reference for his facial structure, which was then interpreted to reflect a younger age.

Additional guidance came from family resemblance, particularly the portrait of his half-brother Lawrence Washington, which informed elements such as hairstyle and presentation appropriate to a young Virginia gentleman of the mid-18th century. The team also considered the appearance established through Mount Vernon’s earlier wax figures of Washington, especially the figure depicting him as a young surveyor. These figures were developed through extensive study by anthropologist Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, who cross-referenced multiple sources, including Washington’s clothing, surviving portraits, the Houdon life mask and bust, and other material evidence, to approximate his physical features with a high degree of accuracy. Guidance from these figures also informed details such as hair color, helping align the portrait with established interpretations of Washington’s early appearance.

The portrait’s clothing and overall styling were based on mid-18th-century portraiture, ensuring an accurate silhouette and dress appropriate to a young man of Washington’s social position in colonial Virginia.

Together, these sources shaped a historically grounded representation of George Washington at age 15.

(1745 – 1807)

James Anderson served as Mount Vernon’s farm manager from 1796 to 1802. Born in Scotland, he apprenticed and managed farms for the landed gentry before moving to America. For Washington, he oversaw daily operations and wrote reports about activities on all five farms. 

Anderson proposed that Washington enter the whiskey-making business. Early in his employment, Anderson realized Washington's farms provided all the necessary ingredients to distill whiskey. He also knew the proceeds from alcohol would be greater than those from raw materials. After a one-year trial demonstrated the profit potential, Washington committed to entering the lucrative whiskey-making business. The enterprise raised significant income.

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Portrait

No confirmed portrait of James Anderson is known to survive. To construct his likeness, Mount Vernon worked with a descendant of the Anderson family and examined photographs spanning multiple generations to identify shared family traits and features.

Among the visual references consulted was a photograph of Edwin Alexander Anderson Jr. (1860–1933), a United States Navy officer and great-grandson of James Anderson. These family images helped inform facial structure and general appearance, allowing the portrait to reflect inherited characteristics within the Anderson lineage.

The portrait’s styling and attire were guided by late-18th-century portrait conventions, particularly examples from the 1790s depicting overseers, farm managers, and gentlemen of similar social standing. Period portraits were used to establish accurate references for hairstyle, shirt, neckcloth, waistcoat, and coat appropriate to a professional manager working within the world of Virginia plantation agriculture.

(1744 – 1809)

Moses Seixas, raised in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, was a Jewish American and the son of a father who immigrated from Portugal. His mother was born in New York. He rose to prominence as warden of Newport’s Touro Synagogue of Congregation Jeshuat Israel. He also co-founded the Bank of Rhode Island, which operated from his house until 1818.

Seixas represented his congregation when Newport’s religious leaders welcomed Washington in 1790. Afterwards he wrote a letter to express his congratulations and appreciation. Writing soon after Rhode Island became the last state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, Seixas sought assurances that the freedom of religion and rights of citizens would apply to Jewish people in the new republic.  

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Portrait

No confirmed portrait of Moses Seixas is known to survive. To approximate his likeness, the portrait was informed by images of close relatives, including his brother Reverend Gershom Mendes Seixas and his nephew Moses Benjamin Seixas. These portraits provided visual reference points for family resemblance and general facial structure.

The portrait’s composition and attire were guided by late-18th-century portrait conventions, particularly examples from the 1790s depicting men of similar social standing and profession. Period portraits were consulted to establish appropriate styling for the upper body, including hairstyle, neckcloth, and jacket, consistent with a civic and religious leader in the early United States.

(1774 – 1848)

Ona Judge was born at Mount Vernon to Betty, an enslaved seamstress, and Andrew Judge, a white tailor. Like her mother, she was the legal property of the Custis estate. 

At 10, Judge became Martha Washington’s maid. At 15, she began work at the President’s House in Philadelphia. While in the city, she made connections with free Black and Quaker abolitionist groups.

When Judge learned that she was to be given to Martha’s granddaughter, she escaped. The Washingtons attempted to bring Judge back to Mount Vernon, but she refused to return. In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, she learned to read and raised a family. Despite many hardships, she never regretted her decision to seek freedom.  

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Portrait

The portrait of Ona Judge was developed using historic sources, especially the 1796 runaway advertisement issued by George Washington, which provides one of the only known physical descriptions of her. It described Judge as “a light mulatto girl, much freckled, with very black eyes and bushy black hair... of middle stature, slender, and delicately formed.” This rare firsthand account formed the foundation for her facial structure, complexion, and hair texture in the portrait.

While no visual references of Ona survive, she was interviewed by a newspaper in the 1840s, and her firsthand account of her life and escape provided insight. To reflect her daily life in the Washington household, she is shown wearing historically appropriate clothing, including a shawl and a mob cap, drawn from period references for women in elite service roles.

(C. 1761 – 1845)

Captured as a child in West Africa, Sambo Anderson worked as a carpenter at Mount Vernon building wooden tools, structures, boats, and coffins. His intricate woodworking can still be seen in the Mansion today. He aided George Washington with experiments in sand casting, kept bees, sold honey to the Washingtons, and earned money hunting. 

Sambo married Agnes in the 1780s and had seven children who lived at one of Washington’s outlying farms. After gaining his freedom through Washington’s will in 1801, Sambo continued to live on Washington’s land. With the money he earned hunting, he purchased the freedom of some of his children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren.

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Portrait

To create Sambo Anderson’s portrait, Mount Vernon relied on one of the rare surviving descriptions of an enslaved individual from the estate. About 30 years after Anderson’s death, an anonymous author wrote in the Alexandria Gazette (1876) that Anderson was “of a bright mahogany color, with high cheek bones, and was stoutly made. His face was tattooed, and he wore in his ears rings which he informed me were made of real Guinea gold.” This vivid account provided crucial insight into Anderson’s appearance, including his skin tone, build, and cultural adornments.

Additional notes from the research files of Mary V. Thompson, Mount Vernon’s longtime research historian, recorded that Anderson’s face bore “two or three cuts on each side, high up on the cheeks.”

(1700 – 1754)

Tanacharison lived with the Seneca Tribe, one of the five confederated nations of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy. He established himself as a leader among the Seneca, Cayuga, and other nations that migrated into the Ohio River Valley in the 18th century due to colonial encroachment in the east.

The British called him the “Half King,” due to their difficulty understanding Iroquois political structure. Tanacharison was one of the first Native leaders Washington met on his 1753 mission to demand the French vacate British lands. The next year, Tanacharison and Washington orchestrated a successful ambush of a French patrol.

Portrait

The portrait of Tanacharison was created in collaboration with members of the Seneca Nation to ensure cultural accuracy and respect. The foundational photograph was taken at Jumonville Glen, the site of the May 28, 1754, encounter that helped ignite the French and Indian War.

The image was developed with guidance from D.J. Huff, a Seneca Nation photographer and historian with deep ancestral ties to 18th-century Native leaders. Huff provided historical context, cultural direction, and on-site photography, intentionally selecting a model of Seneca ancestry and using the landscape itself to shape the tone of the portrait. Elmer John, a member of the Seneca Nation, portrayed Tanacharison. With experience in historical reenactment and film, he prepared through physical conditioning and careful assembly of historically accurate 18th-century clothing and adornment.

After the photograph was taken, Solid Light used AI-assisted techniques to transform the image into a painting-style portrait. The result reflects site-specific photography, Seneca cultural guidance, and historical research brought together through contemporary technology.

(C. 1751 – After 1810)

For two decades, William Lee served as Washington’s enslaved manservant, accompanying Washington nearly everywhere. He organized Washington’s personal affairs and papers, delivered messages, prepared the General’s uniform, and helped him dress. Lee was well known throughout the army. After the war, Lee lived with knee injuries. He was assigned work as a shoemaker in a room by the greenhouse at Mount Vernon. Lee was freed at Washington’s death by the terms of his will. 

Lee lived out his life as a free man at Mount Vernon, sharing stories to curious visitors about the General and the war. Lee is likely interred at Mount Vernon in the burial ground near Washington’s Tomb.

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Portrait

To create the portrait of William Lee, Mount Vernon drew from firsthand descriptions written decades after the American Revolution, along with Washington’s own records. George Washington described Lee, his personal valet throughout the war, as “mulatto,” indicating mixed African and European ancestry. Lee was widely remembered for his strength, athletic build, and dignified bearing. Martha Washington’s grandson recalled him as a “stout active man,” with “a square muscular figure,” while another contemporary described him as moving “with great dignity.” In 1804, artist Charles Willson Peale referred to him as “a heavy man.”

These physical details, though recorded later in life, were used alongside contextual research about 18th-century clothing and grooming standards for enslaved house servants. Lee would have worn a white-and-red livery suit, buckled shoes, and a queue hairstyle, per Washington’s instructions. Without descendant photographs, Mount Vernon relied on these textual descriptions, supported by historical clothing documentation and interpretive research, to respectfully reconstruct Lee’s appearance as both a famous figure of the Revolution and a skilled, trusted member of Washington’s household.