After Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828), George Washington (The Lansdowne Portrait)

Oil on canvas (lined), 19th century, unsigned, presented in an antique gilt composition frame with later liner.

Stretcher size 36 x 27 3/4 in.; Frame dimensions 52 1/2 x 41 1/2 in.

From the Historic Collection of Limestone University, Gaffney, South Carolina
Limestone College, now Limestone University, was founded in 1845 in Gaffney, South Carolina, by English-born Baptist minister Dr. Thomas Curtis and his son William. Originally established as the Limestone Springs Female High School, it was among the first women’s colleges in the nation and the very first in the state. The institution found its early roots in a former resort hotel near healing springs, later struggling due to the Civil War and Reconstruction. It revived in 1881 as the Cooper‑Limestone Institute, thanks to benefaction from industrialist Peter Cooper, and adopted the name Limestone College.

The Lansdowne Portrait of George Washington (1796) by Gilbert Stuart presents the president as a civilian leader rather than a military hero. Commissioned as a diplomatic gift for British Prime Minister William Petty, the life-size painting depicts Washington in a black suit, gesturing with calm authority amid symbols of the young republic—books of law, a rainbow of hope, and the federal eagle. It remains one of the most enduring images of Washington and American democracy.

Stable craquelure; some areas of canvas loss visible near frame edges; staining to liner.