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

U1897.1.1 George Washington as Colonel in the Virginia Regiment, Charles Willson Peale, 1772. Washington-Custis-Lee Collection, Washington and Lee University, Lexington VA
U1897.1.1 George Washington as Colonel in the Virginia Regiment, Charles Willson Peale, 1772. Washington-Custis-Lee Collection, Washington and Lee University, Lexington VA
Martha Washington commissioned the painting of her husband as a companion to the 1757 portrait of her by John Wollaston, completed during her first marriage. Both paintings hung in the Front Parlor at Mount Vernon from 1772-1802, among other family portraits. Peale’s image is a highly evocative piece that commemorates Washington’s complicated past—his loyal military service and valor during the French and Indian War—but also acknowledges his then-status in retirement as a successful, middle-aged gentleman planter.

After the Washingtons’ deaths, the portrait was inherited by George Washington Parke Custis of Arlington House. It is part of the Washington-Custis-Lee Collection, given by Lee descendants to Washington & Lee University.

 

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