Black and white lithograph of George Washington based on a portrait by Gilbert Stuart.
Made/Created
Date made
1860 - 1870
Interpretative Labels
Label Type
Cultural/Historical Context
Label
Perhaps no image of George Washington is more enduring than Gilbert Stuart’s celebrated 1796 "Athenaeum" portrait. Decades later, popular printmakers Currier & Ives adapted Stuart’s oil painting into affordable, mass-produced lithographs, bringing the face of the Revolution directly into the parlors of everyday Americans. In the mid-19th century, as the living memory of the war faded and the nation faced the crisis of the Civil War, citizens looked to this specific, iconic image for a sense of stability. By reproducing Stuart's portrait for the masses, Currier & Ives helped solidify Washington not just as a historical figure, but as the permanent, secular patron saint of American unity and virtue.
