Washington Winter Show 2020

54 Iconic George FACE OF THE NATION R are is the antique show, or Americana auction, at which George Washington does not make an appearance: his likeness is so pervasive as to be easily taken for granted. Today, virtually everyone knows what Washington looked like—his face, as painted by Gilbert Stuart and printed on the one dollar bill, is recognized around the world. It is often assumed that Stuart’s likeness was an official image, created for some governmental function, perhaps authorized by Washington himself, just as other eighteenth- century heads of state were accustomed to do. A second misconception is that acceptance of Stuart’s rendition as the iconic likeness of Washington was virtually immediate and universal, appearing as if by osmosis on everything from engravings and books to printed handkerchiefs, wallpaper, currency, commemorative china, and needlework. Both of these ideas have about as much historical accuracy as Parson Weems’s cherry tree fable or George Washington’s “wooden” teeth. 1 Because Washington’s contemporaries clamored for likenesses, and artists vied to supply them, we have an abundance of period portraits. Over the course of his life, he posed for some two dozen painters and sculptors. Debate has long flourished as to which has the best pedigree and preserves the most accurate likeness. The literature on Washington portraits thus focuses on individual works or artists, considering questions of authenticity, accuracy, artistry, and provenance. This emphasis has obscured a key point: notably, that Washington did not commission an official state portrait. The sheer number of Washington images— and the lack of agreement between by SUSAN P. SCHOELWER Fig. 1: Copperplate-printed textile, captioned “Where Liberty Dwells There is My Country” (popularly known as the Apotheosis of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington). Cotton, English, c. 1783–1785. 1969.3181, Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont, Winterthur Museum, image courtesy of Winterthur Museum.