Gilbert Stuart was unsurpassed as a portrait artist in his generation in America. He was born in 1755 in North Kingston, Rhode Island, but the family moved to Newport when Gilbert was still a child. It was in Newport that he made the acquaintance of William Miller, a physician called upon to treat Stuart for an illness. Miller was a patron of the arts and encouraged Stuart by giving him supplies and also his first commission: a painting of two dogs lying under a table. When Stuart was fourteen, Miller introduced him to Cosmo Alexander, an artist and prominent member of the Scottish community in Newport. Alexander was impressed enough by Stuart's progress that he brought him with him on a tour of Scotland. The trip did not go well, however, as Alexander died shortly after arriving and Stuart had to work his way back to America as a sailor. At the age of twenty, he was able to travel abroad again, this time to London. It was the hospitality of Benjamin West which aided him there and allowed him to mingle with the most distinguished artists and patrons of London. One of his paintings was exhibited at the Royal Academy, and he was soon launched in a successful career. He lived in a fashionable house near Regent Street, and his popularity and income escalated considerably. Unfortunately, his problems with alcohol and severe debts made it necessary for him to return to America. There he settled in New York briefly before moving to the nation's capital. Stuart's reputation guaranteed a steady demand for his work, and even allowed him to paint over one hundred likenesses of George Washington, making his countenance so well known to the nation. Stuart continued painting portraits, especially of famous statesmen, until his death in 1828.

Permanent Collection Page 4