Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1863.2.1 |
Collection |
U.S. Presidents |
Object Name |
Painting |
Title |
Equestrian Portrait of General George Washington |
Artist |
Thomas Sully |
Date |
1842 |
Year Range from |
1842 |
Signed Name |
"TS 1842" |
Signature Location |
Signed and dated at lower left |
Description |
This grand depiction of George Washington may not show the General on a specific occasion, but, rather, evokes the national icon that had taken shape during the 1790s, when Washington was president and Philadelphia was the capital. The General who looks out at us from this painting has the same features as the most famous Washington of all, Gilbert Stuart's "Athenaeum" life portrait (1796), which is also the inspiration for the portrait on our one dollar bill. |
Medium |
Oil on canvas |
Dimensions |
H-148 W-112 inches |
Notes |
The first painting acquired by the League was appropriately of great national interest. It was loaned by the artist to celebrate Washington's birthday at the League in 1863. The painting, for which the Congress was to have appropriated $2200, had been intended for the National Capital "at the close of the Polk administration," but the appropriation was denied. After it was hung on the walls of the League House Ferdinand J. Dreer and James Lawrence Claghorn arrange to purchase it for $750 through private contributions. The corporate body of the League contributed $150 toward its purchase. As a token of respect for Sully's gracious cooperation, he was made a member of The Union League. In 1857, Rembrandt Peale painted a copy of Stuart's "Athenaeum" portrait. It is in the League's collection and hangs nearby. At that time, Peale often lectured on the many artists who had painted the first president. In 1795, at the age of 17, he himself had been among the first; when he painted Washington from life, with his father, uncle, and brother--who were also artists--working nearby. As Peale pointed out in his lectures, the direct antecedent of all these portraits was the famous life-size, standing portrait of Washington, commissioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia, from the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon, who began his work by making a life mask of Washington at Mount Vernon in 1785. He then made bust portraits before he finished the standing version, which is now in the State capital in Richmond. One of these busts was copied in bronze by James MacDonald in 1898; a casting that belongs to the League is displayed nearby. References: Edward Biddle and Mantle Fielding, The life and Works of Thomas Sully (1783-1872) (Philadelphia, 1921), no. 1898, p. 310. Whiteman 1978, pp. 54-55, as "General Washington at the Battle of Trenton, December 25, 1776." Torchia 2005, pp. 10-14, color illus. |
Provenance |
Purchased through subscription and donated by members of the Union League in 1863. |
Legal Status |
Owned by the Union League of Philadelphia |
People |
Washington, George |