George Washington (1732–1799)

Artist Rembrandt Peale American, 1778–1860

Datecirca 1855

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions36 x 29 in. (91.4 x 73.7 cm)
Frame: 44 1/2 x 38 in. (113 x 96.5 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Charles Lee Smith, Sr., William Oliver Smith, Charles Lee Smith, Jr., and Mrs. Joseph H. Hardison, in memory of Dr. Charles Lee Smith, Sr.

Object numberG.56.4.1

On View

On view

Provenance**Created United States, ca. 1855. John Isaiah Northrup; bequeathed to daughter, Mrs. J. A. Hall, Copake Falls, NY, 1870. [Julius H. Weitzner, New York]; sold to NCMA, 1956.
Published ReferencesJohn Hill Morgan and Mantle Fielding, The Life Portraits of Washington and Their Replicas (Philadephia: privately published, 1931), listed 389, no. 15 (as owned by Mrs. J. A. Hall, Buffalo, N. Y.).

Gustavus A. Eisen, Portraits of Washington, 3 Vols (New York: Robert Hamilton and Assoc., 1932), Vol. 2, 416-417.

W. R. Valentiner, Catalogue of Paintings: Including Three Sets of Tapestries (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1956), no. 28a.

Charles W. Stanford, "Our Museum of Art: A Cultural Achievement," North Carolina Education 24 (March 1958), 14-15, 49-52, illus. (b-w) 15.

American Paintings to 1900: Catalogue of Paintings, Vol. 1, 2nd ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1966), no. 26, illus. (b-w and color).

Charles W. Stanford, Masterpieces in the North Carolina Museum of Art (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1966), no. 1, illus.(color)

Charles W. Stanford, Jr., Selections from British and American Paintings and Sculpture (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1967), no. 19, illus. (color).

American Paintings from the Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art (brochure) (Charlotte: Mint Museum of Art, 1975), no. 29, illus. (b-w) cover.

John H. Rhodehamel, "'The Perfect Washington': Rembrandt Peale's Porthole Portrait," Annual Report 1981 (Mount Vernon Ladies Association, 1982), 20-27.

Edgar Peters Bowron, ed., Introduction to the Collections (Chapel Hill: published for the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC, by The University of North Carolina Press, 1983), illus. (b-w) 237.

Carol Eaton Hevner, "The Washington Copies," in Rembrandt Peale,1778-1860: A Life in the Arts (exhibition catalogue) (Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1985), 88-91.

Introduction to the Collections, rev. ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1992), illus. (b-w) 221.

Melissa Clement, "Portraits tell stories of people's inner, outer lives," Fayetteville, NC: Fayetteville Observer Times (July 17, 1998), 22, illus. (b-w).

Jolyn Key, "Taking It a Step Beyond: Fayetteville Museum of Arts Beyond Likeness Exibit [sic]," Up & Coming Magazine (July 22-August 4, 1998), 17.

"Highlights Include Kids' Favorites," Preview: The Magazine of the North Carolina Museum of Art (September/October 2003), mentioned 7.
Exhibition HistoryChapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina, Ackland Art Center, "Arts of the Young Republic: The Age of William Dunlap," November 1-29, 1968, no. 65, illus. (b-w).

Norfolk, VA, Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, "The Many Faces of George Washington," January 2-February 3, 1975.

Charlotte, NC, Mint Museum of Art, "American Paintings from the Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art," September 7-October 19, 1975, no. 29, illus. (b-w) cover.

Hickory, NC, The Hickory Museum of Art, "Beyond Likeness: Contemporary Considerations of the Portrait," November 1-December 31, 1997; Wilmington, NC, St. John's Museum of Art, April 30-June 28, 1998; Fayetteville, NC, Fayetteville Museum of Art, July 11-August 30, 1998; Asheville, NC, Asheville Art Museum, September 17, 1998-January 2, 1999; Greenville, NC, Greenville Museum of Art, January 14-February 28, 1999, brochure.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, Highlights of the American Collection, February 15-August 2, 2009.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

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