The Lansdowne portrait is an iconic life-size portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1796. It depicts the 64-year-old president of the United States during his final year in office. The portrait was a gift to former British Prime Minister William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, and spent more than 170 years in England.
Lansdowne portrait
Detail of the book bindings in the White House's copy of the Lansdowne portrait. "UNITED STATES" is spelled as "UNITED SATES" to distinguish the copy.
New York State Capitol, Ezra Ames, 1813
Rayburn Room, U.S. Capitol, unknown artist, by 1816
Gilbert Stuart was an American painter born in the Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washington, begun in 1796, which is usually referred to as the Athenaeum Portrait. Stuart retained the original and used it to paint scores of copies that were commissioned by patrons in America and abroad. The image of George Washington featured in the painting has appeared on the United States one-dollar bill for more than a century and on various postage stamps of the 19th century and early 20th century.
Stuart in a c. 1825 portrait by Sarah Goodridge
The Gilbert Stuart Birthplace in Saunderstown, Rhode Island
Portrait of William Hunter's spaniels
Self-portrait, painted in 1778