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Primary sourcePainting1795

Vaughan Portrait of George Washington

Gilbert Stuart · 1795

Gilbert Stuart's 1795 oil portrait of George Washington, the artist's first painting of him from life.

Washington sat for Gilbert Stuart in person for this, the artist's first portrait of him.

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Oil painting of an older man with powdered white hair tied back, wearing a dark coat, white cravat with frilled jabot, and a dark ribbon at his neck. He faces forward with a calm expression against a dark background that glows red behind his shoulder.
Gilbert Stuart, George Washington (Vaughan Portrait), 1795. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

About this source

What it is

This oil portrait of George Washington was painted from life by Gilbert Stuart in 1795 and is named after Samuel Vaughan, who bought it that year. It shows Washington from the chest up, with white hair tied back, wearing a dark coat and a ruffled cravat. It is now held in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Why it matters

This was Stuart's first portrait of Washington from life, and he went on to paint many variations of it. The painting left for England soon after it was made and was not returned to the United States for decades. It is one of many images that shaped how Americans pictured their first president.

Look closer

  • What mood or personality does Stuart's painting suggest Washington had?
  • Why do you think Stuart painted so many versions of this same portrait?
  • Why might this painting have traveled to England and stayed there for years?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of George Washington on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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