The Death of George Washington

c. 1800

Pember and Luzander

Associated Names
E. Pember and S. Luzerder

Artist, American

The image displays four individuals, with one person lying on a bed. The individual on the bed is shown from the waist up, with their head on a pillow, wearing a white head covering and white clothing. Three other individuals are standing next to the bed. One person is bending over the individual on the bed, with gray hair, wearing a green coat with a black pattern, a pink waistcoat, yellow knee-length pants, and black boots. Another person, standing farther away, has white hair and wears a long green coat. The fourth person, seated on the left, has a feathered headdress, a red band, and a white garment with a red lining and a medallion. This person is holding a pipe. In the background, there are draped curtains with fringe and a decorative circular emblem featuring stars and potentially an eagle emblem. A wooden window or paneling can be seen behind the curtains.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    hand-colored engraving on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Corcoran Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 25.4 × 24.13 cm (10 × 9 1/2 in.)
    sheet: 29.85 × 25.4 cm (11 3/4 × 10 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.19.3525

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

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1981

  • The World Turned Upside Down, Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, Washington, DC, 1981-1982

Inscriptions

text at bottom in plate: G. WASHINGTON in his last Illness attended by Docrs. Craik and Brown / Americans behold & shed a grateful Tear / For a man who has gained yor. freedom most dear / And now is departing into the realms above / Where he may ever rest in lasting peace & love

Wikidata ID

Q77008642