$9,225
American School, Late 18th Century, After Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) Portrait Miniature of George Washington as Colonel of the First Virginia Regiment. Unsigned. Oil on tinned copper, showing the Colonel waist-length facing left, on a light brown background, 5 3/4 x 4 1/2 in., in a silvered molded wood frame. Note: The present lot is a faithful copy of the famous 1772 portrait of George Washington by the patriarch of the Peale family of painters, Charles Willson Peale, showing the Colonel in his uniform c. 1760-62, the first known likeness of the future first President. The artist here has rounded Washington's face slightly, enlarged his eyes, and simplified the background from a landscape to a softened palette implying a depth of field. He has otherwise been very careful in reproducing the details, including a shirt buckle above the gorget and the inscription on the paper in the Colonel's front left pocket, reading "Order of March."
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2015-03-01