Header Image: My Beloved Country, Igor V. Babailov, 2008. Gift through the generosity of Michael Novak, 2010. Courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.
About My Beloved Country
My Beloved Country, the portrait of George Washington, is a tribute to the great man, leader and Founding Father of the United States of America.
It is called "My Beloved Country!" as quoted by President Washington himself in his farewell speech. These timeless words are a call to future generations to hold dear to their hearts, in faith and courage, the great country he was chosen to lead, through divine providence and a victorious labor of love.
This portrait of George Washington is executed in the traditional style, yet it has an entirely new and contemporary approach of the image of the First and the legendary President of the United States of America.
About Igor V. Babailov
Igor V. Babailov, Hon RAA, KStA, is a world-renowned American portrait painter, Honorary Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts (est. 1757), and one of the most sought after portrait artists of our times.
Deemed Living Master by his contemporaries, he was selected to paint legacy portraits of three living Presidents of three countries, two living Prime Ministers, members of the noble families and British Royalty, and three living Popes for the Vatican.
His notable commissioned portrait subjects include President George W. Bush (Bush Presidential Library), Hillary R. Clinton (Clinton Presidential Library), Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II, now a Saint (all three for the Vatican), His Royal Highness Prince Andrew The Duke of York (Buckingham Palace, London), President Vladimir Putin (Kremlin), Patriarch Kirill of Russia (Moscow Patriarchia), Nelson Mandela (Presidential Collection, South Africa), Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney (Parliament Hill, Ottawa), Prime Minister Jean Chretien (Power Corporation), Mayor Rudolph Giuliani of New York (Giuliani Partners); Isadore Sharp, Founder & CEO of Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts; Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England; The Honorable Joseph P. Sullivan (Supreme Court of New York), Film director Akira Kurosawa (commissioned by Kurosawa Productions, Japan) and many other prominent figures for prestigious collections.
In 2009, the new portrait of George Washington by Igor Babailov was officially presented to George Washington’s Mount Vernon.