George Washington was an American general of the Continental Army, first president of the United States, from 1789 to 1797, and one of the country's many Founding Fathers. Washington led patriot forces in the American Revolutionary War against the British Empire; Washington and the Continental Army defeated British forces on October 19, 1781.

Washington presided over the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, which drafted the Constitution of the United States. Washington was succeeded by John Adams, who was previously the vice president. Washington died on December 14, 1799, at age 67 from a throat infection, likely acute bacterial epiglottitis; he was entombed at Mount Vernon estate in Fairfax County, Virginia, with his wife, Martha Washington, being entombed next to him when she died in 1802.

Washington was painted hundreds of times in the 1700s and 1800s and is still regularly painted. American artist Gilbert Stuart was well known for painting several paintings of Washington, such as the Gibbs-Channing-Avery Portrait, the Lansdowne Portrait, the Athenaeum Portrait, and many more. One of the most iconic paintings of Washington is the Athenaeum Portrait, an unfinished portrait painted by Stuart in 1796. Stuart later used the painting as a reference for other copies and adaptations. The portrait is also used as the engraving on the United States one-dollar bill.

The Prayer at Valley Forge, painted by Arnold Friberg, became prominent during Donald Trump's first presidency and sparked debates about whether the United States was birthed as a Christian nation. It also gained the love of conservative Christians and became a symbol of Christianity in the United States. In 2025, a painting of Washington in the United States embassy in Paris called Washington at Princeton by Charles Willson Peale was restored in the Centre for Research and Restoration of Museums of France in Versailles, Yvelines, by French conservators. Overall paintings of Washington are a critical foundation of his public image and American culture.

Paintings

Portraits + ImageTitleLocationDateArtistPortrait of George WashingtonWashington and Lee University1772Charles Willson PealeWashington at PrincetonPennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts1779Charles Willson PealeGeorge Washington (Trumbull)Metropolitan Museum of Art1780John TrumbullPortrait of George Washington (Wright)Unknown1783Joseph WrightGeorge Washington (Pine)National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC1785Robert Edge PineGeorge Washington (1732-1799)Harvard Art Museums1789Edward SavageGeorge Washington (Trumbull, 1790)New York City Hall1790John TrumbullWashington at Verplanck's PointWinterthur Museum, Garden and Library1790John TrumbullGeorge Washington (Polk)Metropolitan Museum of Art1790Charles Peale PolkGeorge Washington (Wright)Cleveland Museum of Art1790Joseph WrightGeneral George Washington at TrentonYale University Art Gallery1792John TrumbullGeorge Washington (Trumbull)Unknown1793John TrumbullVaughan PortraitNational Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.1795Gilbert StuartGibbs-Channing-Avery PortraitMetropolitan Museum of Art1795Gilbert StuartGeorge Washington (Stuart)Frick Collection1795Gilbert StuartGeorge Washington (Peale)National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.1795Rembrandt PealeGeorge Washington (Peale)Collection of the New York Historical Society, New York1795Charles Willson PealeGeorge Washington (Wertmuller)Metropolitan Museum of Art1795Adolf Ulrik WertmüllerGeorge Washington (Sharples)National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.1796James SharplesLansdowne PortraitNational Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.1796Gilbert StuartPortrait of George WashingtonRoyal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando1796Giuseppe PirovaniAthenaeum PortraitMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston1796Gilbert StuartConstable-Hamilton PortraitCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art1797Gilbert StuartMunro-Lenox PortraitNational Portrait Gallery, London1797Gilbert StuartGeorge Washington (Stuart, Williamstown)Unknown1803Gilbert StuartWashington at Dorchester Heights Museum of Fine Arts, Boston1806Gilbert StuartGeorge Washington (Birch)National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.1810–1820William BirchPortrait of George Washington (Sully)Minneapolis Institute of Art1820Thomas SullyPortrait of George Washington (Stuart)Louvre Abu Dhabi1822Gilbert StuartWashington before YorktownNational Gallery of Art1824Rembrandt PealeGeneral George Washington (Sully)Private collection1842Thomas SullyGeorge Washington (Peale)Metropolitan Museum of Art1846Rembrandt PealeGeneral George Washington (Peale)De Young Museum1850Rembrandt PealePortrait of George Washington Taking the Salute at TrentonTuscaloosa Museum of Art1856John FaedThe Apotheosis of WashingtonUnited States Capitol1865Constantino BrumidiWashington as a FreemasonStrobridge Lithographing Company1866George Washington Masonic National MemorialGeorge Washington (Cadena)White House Historical Association1877Luis CadenaReception to Washington on April 21, 1789, at Trenton on his way to New York to Assume the Duties of the Presidency of the United StatesThomas Edison State University1930N. C. WyethShadows of LibertyTitus Kaphar2016Yale University Art Gallery

Landscapes + ImageTitleLocationDateArtistThe Washington FamilyNational Gallery of Art1789Edward Savage The Passage of the DelawareMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston1819Thomas SullyGeneral George Washington Resigning His CommissionUnited States Capitol rotunda1824John TrumbullWashington Crossing the DelawareMetropolitan Museum of Art1851Emanuel LeutzeWashington on His DeathbedDayton Art Institute1851Junius Brutus StearnsWashington Crossing the DelawareChrysler Museum of Art1856George Caleb BinghamThe Arrival of George Washington at New York City, April 30, 1789New York Historical1870Arsène-Hippolyte RiveyGeneral Washington Delivering His Inaugural Address to New York, April 30, 1789Federal Hall1889Ramon de ElorriagaWashington and Lafayette at Valley ForgeLibrary of Congress1907John Ward DunsmoreGeorge Washington, surveyorUnknown1948Henry HintermeisterThe Prayer at Valley ForgeMuseum of the Bible1975Arnold Friberg

See also

Notes

References

External links

George Washington at National Archives