George Washington

1786/1793

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Associated Names
Jean-Antoine Houdon

Sculptor, French, 1741 - 1828

The sculpture is a bust of a man from the chest up. His hair is slightly wavy and pulled back from his face. He has high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, a straight nose, and thin lips in a neutral expression. He wears a pleated tunic or shirt with a shawl or cloth draped over one shoulder and a wide strap over the other shoulder. The material of the sculpture is off-white, with some areas of light gray. The bust is mounted on a simple, rounded pedestal.”

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On View

West Building Main Floor, Lobby C

Artwork overview

More About this Artwork

Shown from the chest up, an older man with pale, peachy skin, wearing a high-collared black coat and a cream-white, ruffled collar, is shown against a deep wine-red background in this vertical portrait painting. His body is angled to our right and he turns his face to look at us with gray eyes under pale gray eyebrows. He has a hooked nose and jowls along his chin line. His cheeks are flushed and his lips are set in a line. His white hair flares out along the sides of his head and is tied at the nape of his neck with a ribbon loosely painted and outlined with black. His ink-black coat has silvery gray highlights along the high collar and his right shoulder, to our left. The background is painted with light brushstrokes, deepening from scarlet red around his face to black at the upper corners.

Article:  George Washington, Pictured

For centuries, artists have depicted the military general—in paint, in print, and in plaster. These portraits continue to give us insight into Washington’s emotional life, military presence, and cultural footprint.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

J.M. Bouvier Collection, Paris;[1] (Newhouse Galleries, New York); Robert L. McNeil, Jr. [1915-2010], Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania; (sale, Sotheby's, New York, 24 May 1989, no. 16, bought in); Robert L. McNeil, Jr. [1915-2010], Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania; gift 1991 to NGA.

[1] A letter written by H.Harvard Arnason, in NGA curatorial files, states that the work was in the Bouvier collection for at least 2 generations.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1995

  • Temple of Liberty: Building the Capitol for a New Nation, The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 1995, no. 26, fig. 12.

Bibliography

1992

  • Gibson, Eric. "Sculptures Climax the National Gallery's 50th." Washington Times (February 2, 1992).

1997

  • Clark, H. Nichols B., A Marble Quarry, The James H. Ricau Collection of Sculpture at the Chrysler Museum of Art, 1997, no. 67, p. 155, repro.

Inscriptions

applied red wax seal on back: ACADEM. ROYALE DE PEINTURE ET SCULPT. HOUDON SC.

Wikidata ID

Q63860899

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