Gilbert Stuart’s Unfinished Portrait of George Washington
Gilbert Stuart first painted George Washington in 1795 (in a work now known only from copies). That painting was so successful that, according to artist Rembrandt Peale, Martha Washington “wished a Portrait for herself.” She persuaded her husband to sit again for Stuart “on the express condition that when finished it should be hers.” Stuart, however, did not want to part with the picture and left it unfinished so that he could refer to it when producing future commissions. Known as the “Athenaeum” portrait because it went to the Boston Athenaeum after Stuart’s death, this painting served as the basis for the engraving of Washington that appears on the one-dollar bill. John Neal, an early-nineteenth-century writer and art critic, wrote, “Though a better likeness of him were shown to us, we should reject it; for, the only idea that we now have of George Washington, is associated with Stuart’s Washington.” (National Portrait Gallery)
Gilbert Stuart’s portrait, the portrait on the current US $1 bill
Today’s SEE & RESPOND Challenge
Finish this portrait by Gilbert Stuart
Media is artist’s choice
#georgewashington
Post it
To be eligible for prizes (yes prizes!) at the end of the month, post your work to Instagram with #30sal and #georgewashington so we can find your post.
To find more followers for your page, you can cut/paste these to your post:
Deadline for submissions: 3 days after each challenge post.
January prize winners will be announced in February.
To learn more about the 30SAL Challenge, click here.
Fun Fact: In 1862 the first one-dollar bill was issued as a Legal Tender Note (United States Note) with a portrait of Salmon P. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury who served under President Abraham Lincoln. George Washington didn’t appear on the note until 1869
Take a look at the rainbow above. Notice anything about the colors? There’s an extra blue! This rainbow follows the ROYGBIV (Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet) system. You’ve probably seen it, but if someone asked you to paint a rainbow, you probably wouldn’t paint it this way. You’d probably leave out the Indigo. …
I am interested in showcasing pictures that illustrate the very strange 6′ social distancing rule. Open to any media (photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, etc). Must be a League member to submit. Please email your works to ruthiev(at)seattleartistleague.com. Include your name, the artwork’s title, size and materials, and your website/social media page. Send your images …
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”9505″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]This is the fifth part of a multi day series, sharing work by my beginning figure drawing classes. Many of these students have never taken a drawing class before, nearly all of them are …
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”8549″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]Several years ago I took a few Chinese Ink painting classes from Kiki MacInnis and Bang Jin Sun at Pratt. I learned about several styles of traditional and contemporary ink painting, none of which …
Day 12: Gilbert Stuart’s Unfinished Portrait of George Washington #30SAL
Gilbert Stuart’s Unfinished Portrait of George Washington
Gilbert Stuart first painted George Washington in 1795 (in a work now known only from copies). That painting was so successful that, according to artist Rembrandt Peale, Martha Washington “wished a Portrait for herself.” She persuaded her husband to sit again for Stuart “on the express condition that when finished it should be hers.” Stuart, however, did not want to part with the picture and left it unfinished so that he could refer to it when producing future commissions. Known as the “Athenaeum” portrait because it went to the Boston Athenaeum after Stuart’s death, this painting served as the basis for the engraving of Washington that appears on the one-dollar bill. John Neal, an early-nineteenth-century writer and art critic, wrote, “Though a better likeness of him were shown to us, we should reject it; for, the only idea that we now have of George Washington, is associated with Stuart’s Washington.” (National Portrait Gallery)
Today’s SEE & RESPOND Challenge
Finish this portrait by Gilbert Stuart
Media is artist’s choice
#georgewashington
Post it
To be eligible for prizes (yes prizes!) at the end of the month, post your work to Instagram with #30sal and #georgewashington so we can find your post.
To find more followers for your page, you can cut/paste these to your post:
#30sal #georgewashington #portrait #unfinished #unfinishedportrait #unfinishedpainting #vnotes #creativechallenge #januarychallenge #drawingchallenge #drawing #art #sketch #artchallenge #artist #draw #artistsoninstagram #sketchbook #instaart #artwork #drawingoftheday #dailydrawing #oilpainting #mixedmedia #drawingsketch #artoftheday #creativity
Padlet
Don’t have Instagram? Post your work to Padlet.
DAY 12: GEORGE WASHINGTON https://seattleartistleague.padlet.org/SAL/ewht7nr1bszm24sy
DAY 11: BEFORE AND AFTER https://seattleartistleague.padlet.org/SAL/dvmaz3zn3za0146v
DAY 10: MORANDI https://seattleartistleague.padlet.org/SAL/8yxbfsoudzf2uq81
Deadline for Prizes
Deadline for submissions: 3 days after each challenge post.
January prize winners will be announced in February.
To learn more about the 30SAL Challenge, click here.
Related Posts
Newton’s Revisions
Take a look at the rainbow above. Notice anything about the colors? There’s an extra blue! This rainbow follows the ROYGBIV (Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet) system. You’ve probably seen it, but if someone asked you to paint a rainbow, you probably wouldn’t paint it this way. You’d probably leave out the Indigo. …
Call for Art: 6′ of Space
I am interested in showcasing pictures that illustrate the very strange 6′ social distancing rule. Open to any media (photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, etc). Must be a League member to submit. Please email your works to ruthiev(at)seattleartistleague.com. Include your name, the artwork’s title, size and materials, and your website/social media page. Send your images …
Beginner’s Drawings That’ll Knock Your Socks Off (Part 5)
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”9505″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]This is the fifth part of a multi day series, sharing work by my beginning figure drawing classes. Many of these students have never taken a drawing class before, nearly all of them are …
Huang Yongyu; Spring Blossoms
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”8549″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]Several years ago I took a few Chinese Ink painting classes from Kiki MacInnis and Bang Jin Sun at Pratt. I learned about several styles of traditional and contemporary ink painting, none of which …