George Washington

1 portrait

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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George Washington

after Gilbert Stuart
oil on canvas, 1797
28 in. x 19 1/2 in. (711 mm x 495 mm)
Purchased, 1887
Primary Collection
NPG 774

On display in Room 10 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery

Sitterback to top

  • George Washington (1732-1799), First President of the United States. Sitter in 22 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828), Painter. Artist or producer associated with 61 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This painting was produced posthumously as a replica of an original work by Gilbert Stuart, an artist who painted George Washington many times. Washington is shown as a cultivated, well read, gentleman and statesman, embodying the new ideas of freedom and political independence circulating in America and France at that time.

Linked publicationsback to top

Events of 1797back to top

Current affairs

The Anti-Jacobin periodical makes its debut followed by The Anti-Jacobin Review the year after. Edited by William Gifford, it acted as a Tory mouthpiece against the 'New Morality' associated with republicanism.
Bank crisis results in the temporary suspension of payments by the Bank of England leading to a nationwide currency shortage.

Art and science

Robert Southey, later Poet Laureate, publishes his collected Poems, exploring contemporary interest in mythology and non-European cultures.
Ann Radcliffe publishes her popular gothic novel The Italian. One of the most imaginative novelists of the period, she helped introduce readers to the romantic sense of the supernatural.

International

Battle of Cape St Vincent. Admiral John Jervis leads the fleet which defeat the Spanish.
Failure of a small French invasion in Pembrokeshire.
Naval mutinies at Spithead and Nore.
Attack on the Canary Islands in which Rear-Admiral Nelson loses an arm.

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