George Washington
Item
Title
George Washington
Creator
John Wood Dodge
American, 1807–1893
American, 1807–1893
Date
1864
Materials
Ink, watercolor, and gouache, heightened with gum Arabic on paperboard
Description
John Wood Dodge rose to prominence as a painter of miniature portraits in his native New York City in the 1830s. His watercolors on ivory are typically less than three inches in diameter, and this image of George Washington, though larger, likewise demonstrates Dodge’s ability to finely portray facial features and textured fabrics on a small surface. An inscription on the verso indicates that Dodge finished this likeness on March 31, 1864, and based it on a well-known bust (modeled in 1785) of the first president and symbolic father of the nation by French neo-classical sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon.
Source
The John Driscoll American Drawings Collection
Identifier
2018.120
Rights
This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses may not be permitted.