Important Early American Artists: Gilbert Stuart

by J. M. Hochstetler

Self Portrait , c. 1774

This is the third post in my series on important early American artists. Today we’re taking a look at Gilbert Stuart, generally considered to be one of the foremost American portraitists. He painted more than 1,000 people during his lifetime, including the first six American presidents.

Stuart was born December 3, 1755, in the village of Saunderstown, Rhode Island, the third child of a Scottish immigrant named Gilbert Stewart and Elizabeth Anthony Stewart. When he was 6, his family moved to Newport, and it was there that he first began to show artistic talent. In 1770 Scottish artist Cosmo Alexander, who was painting portraits while visiting the colonies, began to tutor the young artist. Stuart was only 14 when he painted a notable portrait titled Dr. Hunter’s Spaniels that hangs in the Hunter House Mansion in Newport today. The following year he moved to Scotland with Alexander to continue his studies. When his tutor died in Edinburgh a year later, Stuart tried to pursue a painting career, but without success. He was forced to return to Newport in 1773 during the build-up to the American Revolution. As a Loyalist he faced bleak prospects in his chosen career, so in 1775 he left for England. He became one of the protégés of Benjamin West in 1777 and studied with him for the next six years.

The Skater, 1782

By 1782 Stuart had achieved considerable success, largely because of acclaim for his first full-length portrait, The Skater, a portrait of William Grant. Stuart opened a London studio, receiving commissions from some of England’s most distinguished men and exhibiting at the Royal Academy. His mature style is similar to the work of renowned English artists Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough, who at one point were the only artists whose commissions exceeded his. Stuart married Charlotte Coates, a beautiful young lady 13 years his junior, in 1786, but unable to curb his spending, he was constantly in financial straits. To escape being sent to debtors’ prison he and his wife fled to Dublin in 1787, where he continued to paint and rack up more debs.

In 1793 he left behind a number of unfinished paintings and moved his family to the United States, initially settling in New York City. His goal was to paint a portrait of George Washington that could be engraved, reproduced, and sold to provide a steady income for his family. To that end he pursued portrait commissions from influential people, hoping they would bring him to Washington’s attention. He quickly gained a reputation as the nation’s leading portrait painter, which resulted in a commission from statesman John Jay, who then provided a letter of introduction to Washington. Stuart moved his family to Germantown, Philadelphia, in 1795, and Washington posed for him there later that same year.

The Athenaeum, 1795

Over the following years Stuart painted a series of iconic portraits of the president, the most well-known of which, called The Athenaeum, created such a demand for copies that it kept him busy and highly paid for years. He painted over 70 reproductions of The Athenaeum, selling them for $100 each. The head from original painting, which was still unfinished at the time of his death, appears on the U.S. one-dollar bill and was featured on postage stamps during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1980 the National Portrait Gallery and Museum of Fine Arts in Boston jointly purchased the original, which is usually on display in the National Portrait Gallery. I well remember the large framed copy of one of the reproductions that hung above the blackboard (yes, a real slate one!) along with the portrait of Lincoln at the front of the high-ceilinged schoolrooms with their tall windows where I attended grade school. That undoubtedly dates me, but I think today’s children would benefit greatly by having both portraits looking down on them during the school day!

Lansdowne Portrait, 1796

Another celebrated image of Washington painted by Stuart is the large Lansdowne portrait that hangs in the East Room of the White House. First Lady Dolley Madison and Paul Jennings, one of President James Madison’s slaves, saved it from destruction during the War of 1812 when British troops set fire to the White House while torching the city. Four versions of it are attributed to Stuart, and other artists also painted copies for display in U.S. government buildings.

In 1803, Stuart opened a studio in Washington, DC, then in 1805 moved to Boston. He continued to receive critical acclaim as well as struggle with his finances. Stuart’s work has been praised both by his contemporaries and by modern critics. Although Stuart didn’t take on any formal pupils, many young artists benefited from the advice he freely gave, especially from his method of painting his subjects’ faces directly onto the canvas or panel without making preliminary sketches, which was reflected in many American portraits in the next generation.

Washington portrait based on The Athenaeum. 1825

Stuart and Charlotte had 12 children, five of whom died by 1815, with two others dying while young. Their daughter Jane, also a painter, sold many of his paintings along with her own reproductions from her studios in Boston and Newport, RI. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2011. In 1824 Stuart suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. He continued painting for two more years before dying in Boston on July 9, 1828. He left his family so deeply in debt that his wife and daughters couldn’t afford a grave site, so he was interred in an unmarked grave in the Old South Burial Ground on Boston Common. Ten years later when his family’s finances improved, they decided to move his body to a family cemetery in Newport, but no one could remember his grave’s exact location. As a result, only a monument for him, his wife, and their children was placed in the Common Burying Ground in Newport. Today, Stuart’s birthplace in Saunderstown, Rhode Island is open to the public as the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum. The museum consists of the original house where he was born, with copies of his paintings hanging throughout the house.

I’m guessing that most of our readers are familiar with the portrait of George Washington based on The Athenaeum. You’ve certainly seen it on the $1 bill. Was this portrait or any other of Washington displayed anywhere in your school when you were growing up? If so, was it pointed out to students along with a discussion about him and his place in history. I’d love to know, so please share what you remember!

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J. M. Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers and a lifelong student of history. She is a professional editor, a publisher, and the author of award-winning historical fiction whose books have been endorsed by bestselling authors such as Lori Benton, Laura Frantz, and Jocelyn Green. Her American Patriot Series is the only comprehensive historical fiction series on the American Revolution. Book 6, Refiner’s Fire, released in 2019, and one more volume, Forge of Freedom, will complete the series. She is also the author of One Holy Night, the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year, and co-authored the award-winning Northkill Amish Series with Bob Hostetler.