Artists’ Eyes on the American Revolution: Gilbert Stuart, Portraitist of the Founding Fathers (ON ZO

This talk will trace the artistic career of Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828), who produced over 1,000 portraits in his lifetime as he worked in eight cities: Newport, Rhode Island; Edinburgh; London; Dublin; New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; and Boston. Renowned for the accuracy of his facial likenesses, Stuart painted the most important Americans of his time, including presidents. One of his portraits of George Washington, for instance, is reflected in the current one-dollar bill. A charming conversationalist, to draw out his sitters’ personality (though not every story he told was true), and sometimes irascible, Stuart became the most preeminent art authority in America. Works of art from East Coast institutions will take pride of place in the talk.

This talk will be on Zoom and lead by art historian, Michael Norris.