Washington in Art

Painted by Charles Willson Peale at Mount Vernon in 1772, this is the earliest known portrait of George Washington.

When Gilbert Stuart put brush to canvas during George Washington’s presidency, he painted the image most recognized today.

This portrait of George Washington was likely made in 1795 by Swedish painter Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller, a talented academician who had been appointed “First Painter” to the King of Sweden.

Although the Burning of Washington transpired long after George Washington’s death, the first president played an important part; Dolley Madison chose to rescue his portrait from the White House just before the building went up in flames.

Charles Polk Peale likely found inspiration for George Washington at Princeton in his uncle's well known 1779 painting of the subject

Washington's sudden death on December 14, 1799, occurred at a critical point in American history and occasioned an unparalleled show of artistic admiration aimed at a stunned and sorrowful public.