: Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828), the most successful and resourceful
portraitist of America's early national period, is best
remembered today for his many incisive likenesses of George
Washington. In the artist's first retrospective in nearly four
decades, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will show nearly 100
works that reveal his talent for capturing both the appearance
and the character of his many prominent clients.
Representing all periods of Stuart's long career and featuring
works drawn from private collections and museums in America and
Britain, "Gilbert Stuart" opens on October 21.
A highlight of the exhibition will be the display in a single
room of 14 of Stuart's Washington portraits, including the
original "Vaughan" likeness, the unfinished "Athenaeum" version
and the celebrated "Lansdowne" portrait of 1796, recently
acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
The chronological arrangement of the exhibition follows Stuart's
career from its start in his hometown of Newport, R.I., to its
end some five decades later in Boston. Within the display, a
gallery will be devoted to works painted in each of the seven
cities - Newport, New York, London, Dublin, Philadelphia,
Washington and Boston - in which the artist practiced his trade
and attracted a clientele.
The son of a Scottish émigré who settled near Newport, Stuart
demonstrated a precocious artistic talent coupled with an
irreverent manner and somewhat rebellious spirit. He honed his
skills on a trip to Edinburgh in 1772-73 and a visit to Boston in
1774 and upon his return to Newport, attracted the local elite,
many of them business associates of his father.
The first signs of his technical skill are apparent in relatively
primitive works fashioned according to the model of contemporary
Scottish portraiture, such as the ambitious 1774 double portrait
of Francis Malbone and his brother Saunders, painted when the
artist was not yet 20. His portrait of his close friend Benjamin
Waterhouse from the next year shows vast improvement and this
accomplishment led him to seek more training abroad.
In 1777, Stuart traveled to London to seek his fortune. He soon
secured a position as an assistant to another American who had
relocated to London - the renowned artist Benjamin West
(1738-1820), historical painter to King George III. Stuart
benefited greatly from this relationship and, with the 1782
exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts of his boldly original
and highly acclaimed full-length portrait "The Skater (William
Grant)" the young American became one of the most sought-after
painters in Britain.
He was also on good terms with the academy's president, Sir
Joshua Reynolds, who recommended Stuart for many jobs. and the
print seller John Boydell, who, in 1785, ordered from Stuart 15
portraits of contemporary artists, six of which will be shown in
the exhibition.
After a decade in London, Stuart's reputation grew along with his
debts. To escape his creditors, he moved to the comparatively
small city of Dubin. Among his most important works from the
period is the 1789 portrait of the newly appointed Lord
Chancellor of Ireland, John Fitzgibbon, whose aloof and regal
pose Stuart would find useful later in his career.
In 1793, the artist sailed for New York, where he would make the
proper connections to gain a sitting with President George
Washington. He received numerous commissions, which he completed
with great speed and skill, proving himself worthy of painting
the leader of the country. Ultimately, through his friend, the
diplomat John Jay, whose portrait he also painted, the necessary
introductions were made and, assured of sittings with George
Washington, Stuart moved to Philadelphia - at that time, the
nation's capitol.
Stuart was granted three sittings with Washington in 1795-96,
bringing the skills honed in Britain to bear on his work. In
these paintings, he satisfied the need in America for lasting
images of its early national leaders created in an international
language of portraiture. Stuart created three portrait types for
the president: a bust length facing left (the so-called Vaughan
image), another facing right (the Athenaeum version) and a
full-length composition (the Lansdowne). The exhibition brings
together several of each type, including four full-lengths. These
grand paintings have never before been seen side by side.
The display will engage viewers by showing the variations in
Stuart's signature work, which Stuart continued to replicate for
the next 30 years and will explain the genesis of the portrait
that most know so well as the face on the US $1 bill.
A complementary exhibition "George Washington: Man, Myth,
Monument - Images from the Metropolitan" will feature some four
dozen works in all media depicting America's first president and
will be on view in the museum's American wing until February 27.
After its showing at the Metropolitan, "Gilbert Stuart" will be
on view at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. March
27-July 31.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is at 1000 Fifth Avenue. For
information, 212-535-7710.
