This masterful portrait set in a walnut frame, depicts George Washington in black velvet suit with white lace jabot at his neck, and powdered hair. Dating to the first quarter of the1800s, this unsigned oil on canvas is attributed to Gilbert Stuart, who painted approximately 75 "Athenaeum-type" portraits of Washington. Though each version is clearly based on one source, the individual works often have distinct appearances, with variations in costume and/or background. Accompanied by an Exhibition Book. CONDITION: painting has been re-lined in the past, appears to be on original stretcher bars, minor tears & repairs in area of lower quadrant, in-painting noted under black-light examination, uneven varnish throughout. PROVENANCE: Purchased in 1991 from Hessney's auction house in Geneva, New York; the painting had previously been in a private collection in Auburn, NY, the home of an Ambassador in Foreign Service. After 1991, the portrait hung for many years at the consignor's bed & breakfast in Chincoteague, Virginia. Born in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, the son of a snuff-mill owner, Gilbert Stuart had the baptismal name of Stewart but later changed it to the Jacobite spelling, wanting to be associated in name with the royal Stuart family of England. Stuart began his career as a provincial portrait painter in the American colonies and eventually went to London for further training. Under the tutelage of expatriate Benjamin West, Stuart quickly mastered the painterly brushwork of the Grand Manner, the favored style of Sir Joshua Reynolds.Stuart realized that portrait painting could be a very lucrative business, so he opened what became a successful portrait studio in London. His extravagant tastes however left him with ever-growing debts, which he avoided by fleeing in 1787 to Ireland and establishing another profitable studio. In 1792, Stuart returned to America and became the most highly regarded portraitist of his day with nearly everyone in prominence in the government becoming one of his subjects. Always low on money and known for erratic behavior, which some attributed to his genius, he remained ever pursued by his creditors. Gilbert Stuart is buried in Boston in an unmarked pauper's grave. Overall Size: 35 1/2 x 30 1/2 in. Sight Size: 29 1/4 x 24 in.