George Washington Lansdowne Portrait by Gilbert Stuart | BRIdge From The Past

0:00 Hey everybody. Welcome to another episode of Bridge from the Past. I’m your host, Mary, and this series is all about using primary source images as a starting point to think about important topics in American history and civics today. We’re looking at a very famous portrait of George Washington, often referred to as the Lansdowne portrait. What does this painting tell us about our first president?

0:22 Let’s jump in and see. Here is our image. Once again, we’re using this Lansdowne portrait of George Washington, which was done by the American artist Gilbert Stewart in 1796, to think about what it reveals about our first president. Whenever you have a primary source image,

0:42 it’s important to just make some observations before you go any further. If you’re using the handout that comes with this video, go ahead and pause here and make some observations of your own. Here are a few things that jump out to me. First of all, Washington is front and center in this image. He’s standing in this very formal sort of pose with his hand extended.

1:04 He has a sword in his other arm. Down here, he’s dressed very formally. So that’s something that I observe. I also observe the formality, the fanciness of the background. There’s a golden table here. There’s a golden chair behind him. There are columns behind him. There’s this rich red color throughout the background.

1:26 And I also notice in one window it looks like there are some sort of storm clouds. But over here on the other side, I see a rainbow. There’s clearly a lot of symbolism in this picture. Let’s take a step back and think about some context before we can go any further with our analysis. So, first of all, Washington’s pose. This is, in fact, a life size, full size portrait.

1:49 It’s actually the only full size portrait of George Washington as president rather than a general. So his pose here with one arm extended and his feet sort of the way that he’s standing, this is referred to as the adlocutio pose. And this is a pose that was favored by Roman sculptors. There’s actually a very famous sculpture

2:10 of Caesar Augustus in this very exact same pose. It’s an oratorical pose, meaning a pose you would take when you’re giving a speech. So the reference is to Washington addressing Congress to urge them to ratify the Jay Treaty, which was ratified in London before this picture was painted. So on the table here, you have some papers and a pen.

2:31 That’s a reference to the Jay Treaty, which was a treaty with Great Britain. So Gilbert Stewart, as the artist, is linking Washington with the past, with Rome, with antiquity. You also have these columns behind him, which is another nod to antiquity. Over here on the table, on the table leg, you can see it’s sort of like very small rods bound together.

2:54 And this is referred to as a facses. And again, this is a symbol that dates back to ancient Rome. It was something that Roman judges would carry. It was a symbol of power. So you often see a facses in pictures that are meant to meant to project power. So I clearly have images of Washington as a powerful person.

3:15 He’s standing in this powerful pose. He has these symbols of power all around him. There’s also some books here under the table, and the books are important, too. So the books under the table are titled general orders, american Revolution and constitution and laws of the United States. So these are all references to the important roles that Washington

3:35 played as the commander in chief of the continental army during the American revolution, the president of the Constitutional convention, and, of course, as the first president of the United States. The other thing that I love about this picture is the background. You have these storm clouds on one side, but a rainbow over here. So it’s as if to say Washington has weathered a lot of storms.

3:57 He led the continental army for eight years. He was the president of the Constitutional Convention, and he’s now serving two terms as the first President. This picture was done in 1796, which was the very last year of Washington’s second term. So he had been through a lot. He had been an indispensable leader to hold this new nation together.

4:20 So all of this is coming out in Gilbert Stewart’s portrait. The Lansdowne name comes from William Petty Lord Shelburne the first Marquess of Lansdowne. That’s a fancy British aristocratic name because this was a British aristocrat. So why was this picture of America’s first president given or painted for British aristocrat?

4:41 Seems a little odd, given that America and the British Empire basically broke up during the American revolution. Well, it turns out that this man was involved with the peace treaty that ended the revolutionary war. He was involved with creating the J treaty, and he really thought that opening up trade and good relations between the United States and Great Britain was important for everyone.

5:03 So the Lansdowne portrait was painted for this man. It hung in his home, and that is where the Lansdowne name comes from. There were several copies made of this picture, including one that famously hung in the White House and was saved by Dolly Madison’s orders during the war of 1812 before it could be burned down by the British. But the original again was in London,

5:25 and it’s now back in the United States at the national portrait gallery at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. We started by asking what the Lansdown portrait of George Washington could tell us about the first President. And we learned a lot through the symbolism of all the important roles that Washington played of the hopeful rainbow in the corner, that maybe better terms

5:46 for the United States and Great Britain were on the horizon, that better days for the new country would be dawning with a symbol of hope. But as always, there’s so much more to this story. So now I turn it over to you. What questions do you have? What do you want to know more about? Leave me a note in the comments below. If you learned something, be sure to like this video and subscribe to our channel to be in the know about

6:09 other resources to help you through the school year. I’ll be back soon with another image to help us think about some cool topics in American history and civics. Until then, everybody take care. So, did you learn something new? Do you know? The Bill of Rights Institute has many more videos on American history, government and civics. From primary source document breakdowns to historical image analysis,

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