George Washington: A National Treasure

George Washington: A National Treasure celebrates our nationís permanent acquisition of Gilbert Stuartís magnificent "Landsdowne" portrait of George Washington. Commissioned for the Marquis of Lansdowne, a British supporter of American independence, the painting shows Washington in the last year of his presidency, 1796. Here is a George Washington for the ages, resolute in the face of the multiple crises of our nationís beginnings; grand in the tradition not of a king but of democracyís representative; civilian rather than military in his authority; and above all, the embodiment of a nation both stable and free. Today the painting provides a way to think about a time when Americaís success was by no means certain, about a man whose traits of character became bound up with his nationís fate, and about the expectation for our nationís highest office "the presidency" at the very moment of its creation. Filled with symbols of Washington himself and of the new republic, the painting speaks to Americans today as much as it did in the late eighteenth century.

Lavishly illustrated in color with details of the Lansdowne portrait itself, with other portraits of Washington--contemporary and modern--and with portraits of Washingtonís colleagues, the book is a treasure in and of itself. Essays reflect on how this remarkable painting explains the nature of Washington and his importance in the national psyche, discuss how Washington came to sit for the Lansdowne painting and the workís ownership throuout the years, and consider Gilbert Stuartís portraits of George Washington, and their many copies. A chronology highlights Washingtonís life and times.