Gilbert Stuart

Born to Scottish parents in North Kingston, Rhode Island, Gilbert Stuart spent much of his early career in Europe. He studied with the American portrait painter Benjamin West in London from 1777 to 1782 and then moved to Dublin in 1787. There he painted the wealthy Protestant minority before returning to America in 1793, hoping to paint George Washington. He obtained his first sitting with the President after moving to Philadelphia in 1795, followed by two additional sittings in 1796. Stuart based all of his subsequent images of Washington on these three sessions. The artist lived briefly in Washington DC starting in 1803, continuing to paint portraits of politically prominent individuals before moving to Boston in 1805, where he lived the rest of his life. Although he created over a thousand portraits during his career and painted well-known Americans like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, Stuart is best remembered for his images of Washington.