Vaughan Portrait

Vaughan Portrait
George Washington Vaughan portrait
Painting of George Washington
ArtistGilbert Stuart
Year1795; 231 years ago (1795)
MediumOil on canvas
SubjectGeorge Washington
Dimensions73 x 60.5 cm
ConditionOn display
Location
OwnerNational Gallery of Art
Accession1942.8.27
Websitenga.gov

Vaughan Portrait, also known as the George Washington Vaughan portrait, is an oil portrait of the first U.S. president, George Washington, painted by American painter Gilbert Stuart in 1795 and named after Samuel Vaughan. It was the first portrait of Washington created by Stuart. After its creation, Stuart made several other variations of the portrait. The portrait's current location is at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

History

Painter Gilbert Stuart painted the Vaughan Portrait in 1795 and named it after Samuel Vaughan, an Anglo-Irish merchant and political radical. The year it was painted, it was taken to England and was not returned until 1851. The painting is of George Washington and is the first painting painted by Stuart of Washington. Stuart painted many other variations after the original one, most notably the Vaughan-Sinclair portrait, which was painted the same year as the first.

In 1795 Vaughan bought the painting for an undisclosed amount of money. It was bought again in 1912 for $16,100 and was valued by Knoedler at $175,000 in 1936. As of 2026, the painting currently sits in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.[better source needed]

Description

The painting shows Washington from the chest up against a deep red wine background. His body is turned slightly to the viewer's right while he faces directly toward the viewer. He has pale skin, gray eyes, flushed cheeks, a hooked nose, and white hair that points out at the sides and is tied at the back with a ribbon. He wears a high-collared black coat and a cream-white ruffled cravat. The background fades from a brighter red around his face to darker tones near the corners.

Variations

13 other variations of the painting exist, including the Gibbs-Channing-Avery portrait held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2024, The Met deaccessioned a second variation, referred to as the Philips-Brixey portrait, realizing a price of $2.83 million; it was also called one of the rarest paintings of Washington.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "George Washington (Vaughan portrait) by Gilbert Stuart". www.nga.gov. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Germain, Edward St. "The Vaughan Portrait & Copies | Paintings by Gilbert Stuart". AmericanRevolution.org. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  3. ↑ Harvard. "George Washington (1732–1799) | Harvard Art Museums". harvardartmuseums.org. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Gilbert Stuart – George Washington (Vaughan Portrait)". www.pubhist.com. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  5. ↑ "George Washington (Vaughan type)". npg.si.edu. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  6. ↑ MonkEL (February 6, 2015). "Gilbert Stuart's Washington: Rare Views of Our First President". npg.si.edu. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  7. ↑ "George Washington (Vaughan-Sinclair portrait) by Gilbert Stuart". www.nga.gov. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Art: Clarke Collection". Time Magazine.
  9. ↑ "Gilbert Stuart – George Washington – American – The Metropolitan Museum of Art". www.metmuseum.org. Archived from the original on March 7, 2026. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  10. 1 2 Kuta, Sarah. "The Met Is Selling This Rare Portrait of George Washington". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  11. ↑ Porterfield, Carlie (December 20, 2023). "Metropolitan Museum's deaccessioned George Washington portrait could bring $2.5m at auction". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. Retrieved September 4, 2026.