Stuart, Gilbert “General Washington. Painted by Gilbert Stuart 1797. Engraved by James Heath...”

Gilbert Stuart.  “General Washington. Painted by Gilbert Stuart 1797.  Engraved by James Heath...from the original picture in the Collection of the Marquis of Lansdowne. By J. Heath N9 42 Newman Messrs. Boydells,  Cheapside,  &  J.  P.  Thompson,  Great  Newport 137.”  

London: James Heath, Feby 1, 1800.  20 x 13 (image); 22 ¼ x 14 3/8 (paper).  Line engraving by James Heath on laid paper.  A strong impression.  Narrow margins as to be expected.  Faint mat burn in margins and faint foxing and old tape glue stain in top margin covered by new mat.  One inch old tape glue stains right and left hand margin edge hidden by matting.  Remnants of old backing board at corners on verso where print was once adhered.  Print has been refitted into antique 19^th century Hogarth frame using acid free materials.  Overall, very good condition.  Second State.  Hart 285A.  A/A 

A humorist once said that if George Washington appeared among us in the twentieth century and he did not look like Gilbert Stuart’s portrait, made famous by the one dollar bill, nobody would accept his identity.  Indeed, Stuart’s is the best known of the many portraits of Washington, but few know that Stuart executed three basic portraits.  The “Athenaeum” portrait, a bust turned to the sitter’s right, is the best known because it is a facial image.  It acquired the name because the original has hung in the Boston Athenaeum until recently.  The print described here is after the “Lansdowne” portrait, named for the British nobleman who commissioned the original painting.  The third type portrait, called the “Vaughn” portrait, is seldom seen because Stuart caught an awkward image of Washington in which the awry mouth calls attention to the first president’s dentures.  This last picture is the least popular of the portraits. (For a history of Washington's dentures visit the Mount Vernon website.)

True to its nobility of intention, the Lansdowne portrait is a celebration of the nobility of Washington.  It contains all the classical trappings of portraiture including the pillar of stability, the curtain of elegance, and in this case, the most beautiful representations of Empire or Federalist furniture seen in a portrait of any American in the eighteenth century.  Heath’s engraving was done in England with the permission of Lord Lansdowne but not of Gilbert Stuart, and the artist was most upset.  In an age that knew no copyright law the portraitist had no recourse.  Stuart did, however, many copies of this scene in oils for institutions.  Some are better than others, but all are highly valued.  James Heath’s fine engraving is the first to be taken from Stuart’s “Lansdowne Portrait.”

This print is the second state where the title was changed in the first state from “George Washington” to “General Washington.”  In addition, following Heath’s name and address, new publishers and addresses were added in the second state: “Messrs. Boydells,  Cheapside,  &  J.  P.  Thompson,  Great  Newport 137.”  The third state of the print can be identified by the lack of the letter “e” in Lansdowne.