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PROPERTY FROM THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

GEORGE WASHINGTON

measurements
35 1/2 by 29 in.

alternate measurements
(90.2 by 73.7 cm)

signed R. Peale and inscribed from C.W. Peale 1772, l.l.; also signed and inscribed Copied by/ Rembrandt Peale/ from the Original Portrait of/ Washington painted by/ Ch.W. Peale in 1772 on the reverse prior to lining

oil on canvas

Painted circa 1850s.

PROVENANCE

Sale: Catalogue of Original Paintings of the late Rembrandt Peale, The Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1862
James Lenox, New York (acquired at the above sale)
Gift to the present owner from the above, 1876

LITERATURE

Lenox Library, A Guide to the Paintings and Sculpture Exhibited to the Public, New York, 1878, no. 84, p. 13
New York Public Library, Catalogue of the Paintings in the Lenox Gallery, New York, 1897, no. 62
Theodore Bolton and Harry Lorin Binesse, "Peale Portraits of Washington," Antiquarian, February 1931, pp. 24-27
Gustavus Eisen, Portraits of Washington, vol. 2, 1932, pp. 416-17
R.W. Hill and L. Stark, "Washingtoniana in the New York Public Library," New York Public Library Bulletin, February 1957, p. 77

NOTE

Rembrandt Peale's George Washington was painted after a life portrait of Washington by his father, Charles Willson Peale, and appears to be the only known version of its kind. Probably executed in the 1850s, this portrait of a young Washington is typical of Rembrandt's later more romantic style and embodies the American public's idealistic and sentimental perception of the first President of the United States.

Rembrandt painted his first portrait of Washington from life in 1795 at the age of 17. Born into a family of artists, Rembrandt was accompanied by both his father Charles Willson, who had already captured Washington from life on six prior occasions, and his uncle James Peale, also an artist. Rembrandt's earliest exposure marked the beginning of a lifelong fascination with the first President of the United States and a devotion to creating what he would call a "National Standard Likeness." Rembrandt painted well over one hundred portraits of Washington throughout the course of his lengthy career and these images are both replicas of his father's and fellow artist Gilbert Stuart's portraits as well as those of his own design. In 1823, Rembrandt painted Patriae Pater (figure 1), a composite portrait of Washington which would become his most famous image. Based on this likeness, Rembrandt created at least 70 copies in the 'Porthole' style, which framed a bust portrait of Washington in a stone oval wearing either civilian or military dress. Rembrandt wrote to his brother Rubens towards the end of his career, "I cannot help thinking that after 77 years, I have not many years to live, and feel that my Vocation is to multiply the countenance of Washington" (Carol Eaton Hevner, Rembrandt Peale 1778-1860: A Life in the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1985, p. 88).

By the 1850's, Rembrandt was still fielding commissions for his 'Porthole' portraits, capitalizing on the heightened interest in Washington as a result of the conflict and looming strife between the North and the South. It was at this time that Rembrandt developed his lecture entitled 'Washington and His Portraits,' delivering the first of these at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1854. Lillian B. Miller writes, "The purpose behind his presentation was to emphasize how Washington's 'countenance corresponded with his conduct,' so that in recollecting 'his true & impressive Image,' the 'noblest feelings of emulation and patriotism' would be excited. For, Rembrandt passionately insisted, it was desirable for Americans to know Washington through his likeness, so that they would understand how his 'knowledge & control of Character, and~influential energy were devoted to perpetuate, more than language, our liberties our Union'" (In Pursuit of Fame, Rembrandt Peale 1778-1860, Washington, D.C., 1992, p. 232). Aware of the financial windfall replications of his portraits could create at a time when "every American considers it his sacred duty to have a likeness of Washington in his home" (Ibid, p. 281), Rembrandt toured the Northeast giving his lecture, accompanied by his many painted portraits of the first President.

The present work was probably painted as an accompaniment to these lectures and remained in Rembrandt's possession until the time of his death. This likeness of Washington is loosely based on Washington as Colonel of the Virginia Regiment by Charles Willson Peale (figure 2), the first life portrait of Washington which was painted at Mount Vernon in 1772. Charles Willson's painting depicts a youthful Washington at age 40 and is meant to commemorate his service in the French and Indian War. Washington is shown with his natural thick wavy brown hair, and wearing the red-lined dark jacket and red sash, typical of the British uniforms supplied in the day. The brass gorget which hangs around his neck indicates his position as an officer. Rembrandt credited this painting in his inscription on the reverse but chose only to capture the head and shoulders framed within an oval, his classic 'Porthole' format. Rembrandt's interpretation of his father's original is a softer and less linear rendering of the first President. Warm colors and glimmering highlights in Washington's eyes create a romantic aureole-like effect which are hallmarks of Rembrandt's late style. The resulting portrait lacks the sense of immediacy of his father's likeness as it captures an idealized vision of Washington infused with nostalgia only achieved through the passage of time.

James Lenox, the wealthy New York philanthropist whose collection of books and paintings formed the Lenox Library, predecessor to The New York Public Library, purchased this painting from Rembrandt Peale's estate sale in Philadelphia in 1862. By this time, Lenox had acquired Washington's farewell address from the estate of prominent Philadelphia printer David C. Claypoole and was in possession of at least two other portraits of Washington (a 'Porthole' portrait he commissioned from Rembrandt circa 1845 and one by James Peale, lot 6 in this sale). Lenox's enthusiasm for the first President is a reflection of the renewed interest in Washington which characterized the mid-19^th century.