Skip menu to read main page content

George Washington at Dorchester Heights

Description

Oil on canvas full-length portrait of "George Washington at Dorchester Heights", ca. 1830-1850, by Jane Stuart after Gilbert Stuart. George Washington (1732-1799) was General of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and the First President of the United States. In this scene, he stands next to his horse on Dorchester Heights, which were a series of hills with a commanding view of Boston harbor. Continental forces occupied and fortified this position in early March 1776 in anticipation of a British assault. The hills were armed with large cannon and up to six thousand men. A large snow storm prevented any major action there and British forces withdrew from Boston. Defense of the heights continued through the rest of the war. In 1806, American portrait painter Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) was commissioned by the City of Boston to create the original "George Washington at Dorchester Heights," which is currently on deposit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. After the artist's death in 1828, his daughter Jane Stuart (1812-1888) was regularly commissioned to make reproductions of her fathers work. The painting came into the possession of a Mr. A. C. Meyer, who gifted the painting to the Germania Club in 1895. The club donated the painting to the Maryland Historical Society in 1918.

Date

ca. 1830

Contributor(s) Notes

This painting is a copy (ca. 1830s) of the original (1806) by the artist's daughter.

Materials

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

31.6 x 38.5 inches

Object ID

1918.8.1

Resource ID

5032

Credit Line

Gift of Germania Club

Digital Publisher

Digital resource provided by the Maryland Center for History and Culture

Rights

This digital image is made available here for private study, scholarship, and research. Commercial and other uses are prohibited without the permission of the Maryland Center for History and Culture. For more information, visit the MCHC’s Reproductions and Permissions web page.