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George Washington

Portrait painting of George Washington, full length, in black suit, cravat, and shoes with buckles. He holds a sword in his left hand, and his right hand is open in a gesture. A table with a quill, book, scroll, and a chair are visible. Behind him are columns, drapes, and a cloudy sky. Text reads, “Presented to the Legation of the United States at Madrid by Richard W. Meade of Philadelphia December 11th 1818.”/tiles/collection/1/10744.xml
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Portrait painting of George Washington in a gold frame, full length, in black suit, cravat, and shoes with buckles. He holds a sword in his left hand, and his right hand is open in a gesture. A table with a quill, book, scroll, and a chair are visible. Behind him are columns, drapes, and a cloudy sky. Text reads, “Presented to the Legation of the United States at Madrid by Richard W. Meade of Philadelphia December 11th 1818.”/tiles/collection/1/10745.xml
Download this image
Portrait painting of George Washington, full length, in black suit, cravat, and shoes with buckles. He holds a sword in his left hand, and his right hand is open in a gesture. A table with a quill, book, scroll, and a chair are visible. Behind him are columns, drapes, and a cloudy sky. Text reads, “Presented to the Legation of the United States at Madrid by Richard W. Meade of Philadelphia December 11th 1818.”
Portrait painting of George Washington in a gold frame, full length, in black suit, cravat, and shoes with buckles. He holds a sword in his left hand, and his right hand is open in a gesture. A table with a quill, book, scroll, and a chair are visible. Behind him are columns, drapes, and a cloudy sky. Text reads, “Presented to the Legation of the United States at Madrid by Richard W. Meade of Philadelphia December 11th 1818.”
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Date

1805-1818

Artist

after Gilbert Charles Stuart

Dimensions

Dimensions: 93 × 59 in. (236.2 × 149.9 cm) Framed: 104 1/8 × 69 1/4 × 4 3/4 in. (264.5 × 175.9 × 12.1 cm)

Accession Number

2006.170.000

Credit Line

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives

Object Details

Painted after the famous Gilbert Stuart Lansdowne portrait, this version of George Washington took an unconventional route to the Capitol. The painting was originally owned by Richard W. Meade of Philadelphia, who gave it to the American Embassy in Madrid in 1818, as described in the inscription at the top of the canvas. More than 100 years later, it was brought to Washington from Madrid at the behest of Representative James Fulton and was hung in Statuary Hall in 1951. As in the Stuart version, Washington is posed with one hand on his sword, the other outstretched in a traditional rhetorical gesture, as if he were addressing an audience.

Rights and Reproduction Information

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Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov