Promoting the President
We look for our president in paintings, photographs, and sculpture, where we may see him as a warrior, family man, or a man of faith. Washington, the nation鈥檚 first soldier and president, is the prototype for political promotion, too. For this exhibition, Gilbert Stuart鈥檚 famous painting, George Washington, on loan to the Museum, as well as the Museum鈥檚 collection of artifacts and engravings show this leader in images beautiful, respectful, and, sometimes, flamboyant, that were made to frame our vision of him and charge our patriotism and memories.
George Washington was painted three times by American painter Gilbert Stuart between 1775 and 1776. Everyone wanted a portrait of the hero of the American Revolution and Gilbert, himself, made rare copies of his second 鈥斺�淭he Atheneum portrait.鈥� All are treasured. One, at the Museum for this exhibition, shows the president looking to the right out at the viewer, his left hand framed by a gilded arm rest.
Images of Washington often show him an elder statesman, bringing peace and stability to the new nation of the United States after the turmoil of its Revolutionary War. The Museum complements these images with early books and prints that illustrate his life in many aspects and the popular perceptions of him after his death. People tend to turn to Washington and look for his image during trying times such as Washington鈥檚 own death in 1799 and during the Civil War in the 1860s as well as in times of celebration at the Centennial of the United States in 1876, and the Bicentennial of Washington鈥檚 birth in 1932.
Promoting the President focuses on images of George Washington grouped in four themes: first, General-Hero, seen in a number of notable prints, including Alexander Campbell鈥檚 1777 George Washington General and Commander en Chief of the Continental Army in America; or General Washington, 1781, after John Trumbull; Memorials and Mementos, illustrated by Washington鈥檚 Headquarters, a mid-19th century a painting attributed to E. C. Coates and on the covers of popular media in the 1930s that celebrated the Bicentennial of Washington鈥檚 birth in poster art and merchandising; third, Portraits, foremost the Gilbert Stuart painting as well as engravings such as the famous 鈥淧orthole鈥� engraving from the Original painting of Washington from life by Rembrandt Peale, circa 1870; and, last, Washington as Man or Myth, illustrated here in the famous myth: 鈥�Father I Cannot Tell a Lie, I Cut the Tree,鈥� in the 1867 engraving by George White.
The successful visual promotion of Washington to his public was adopted by the presidents who followed as they sought visual presence before the public. By Abraham Lincoln鈥檚 time from 1861 to 1865, photographs like paintings less than a century before became the vehicle for showing the president at work. Both leaders were continually linked together in the public鈥檚 perception as seen in a pair of 1860s鈥� engravings based on paintings by F. B. Schell: The Washington Family and The Lincoln Family. In each, the president is seated, his wife and children surrounding him, a grouping that reflects the 19th-century鈥檚 idealization of domestic life and that society鈥檚 desire to see its leaders as moral men. An 1865 Currier and Ives lithograph pictures Washington (The Father) and Lincoln (The Saviour) of the country.
The combination of the magnificent Gilbert Stuart loan with the art and popular culture collections from the Museum鈥檚 holdings tells much about how we view and remember historical figures. The exhibition is organized by the Hudson River Museum.
Recommended for you
We look for our president in paintings, photographs, and sculpture, where we may see him as a warrior, family man, or a man of faith. Washington, the nation鈥檚 first soldier and president, is the prototype for political promotion, too. For this exhibition, Gilbert Stuart鈥檚 famous painting, George Washington, on loan to the Museum, as well as the Museum鈥檚 collection of artifacts and engravings show this leader in images beautiful, respectful, and, sometimes, flamboyant, that were made to frame our vision of him and charge our patriotism and memories.
George Washington was painted three times by American painter Gilbert Stuart between 1775 and 1776. Everyone wanted a portrait of the hero of the American Revolution and Gilbert, himself, made rare copies of his second 鈥斺�淭he Atheneum portrait.鈥� All are treasured. One, at the Museum for this exhibition, shows the president looking to the right out at the viewer, his left hand framed by a gilded arm rest.
Images of Washington often show him an elder statesman, bringing peace and stability to the new nation of the United States after the turmoil of its Revolutionary War. The Museum complements these images with early books and prints that illustrate his life in many aspects and the popular perceptions of him after his death. People tend to turn to Washington and look for his image during trying times such as Washington鈥檚 own death in 1799 and during the Civil War in the 1860s as well as in times of celebration at the Centennial of the United States in 1876, and the Bicentennial of Washington鈥檚 birth in 1932.
Promoting the President focuses on images of George Washington grouped in four themes: first, General-Hero, seen in a number of notable prints, including Alexander Campbell鈥檚 1777 George Washington General and Commander en Chief of the Continental Army in America; or General Washington, 1781, after John Trumbull; Memorials and Mementos, illustrated by Washington鈥檚 Headquarters, a mid-19th century a painting attributed to E. C. Coates and on the covers of popular media in the 1930s that celebrated the Bicentennial of Washington鈥檚 birth in poster art and merchandising; third, Portraits, foremost the Gilbert Stuart painting as well as engravings such as the famous 鈥淧orthole鈥� engraving from the Original painting of Washington from life by Rembrandt Peale, circa 1870; and, last, Washington as Man or Myth, illustrated here in the famous myth: 鈥�Father I Cannot Tell a Lie, I Cut the Tree,鈥� in the 1867 engraving by George White.
The successful visual promotion of Washington to his public was adopted by the presidents who followed as they sought visual presence before the public. By Abraham Lincoln鈥檚 time from 1861 to 1865, photographs like paintings less than a century before became the vehicle for showing the president at work. Both leaders were continually linked together in the public鈥檚 perception as seen in a pair of 1860s鈥� engravings based on paintings by F. B. Schell: The Washington Family and The Lincoln Family. In each, the president is seated, his wife and children surrounding him, a grouping that reflects the 19th-century鈥檚 idealization of domestic life and that society鈥檚 desire to see its leaders as moral men. An 1865 Currier and Ives lithograph pictures Washington (The Father) and Lincoln (The Saviour) of the country.
The combination of the magnificent Gilbert Stuart loan with the art and popular culture collections from the Museum鈥檚 holdings tells much about how we view and remember historical figures. The exhibition is organized by the Hudson River Museum.
Artists on show
Contact details
