George Washington as a Colonel in the Virginia Regiment by C. W. Peale

George Washington as a Colonel in the Virginia Regiment, 1772

Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741−1827)

Oil on canvas, 50.5" H x 41.5" W

Gift of George Washington Custis Lee, U1897.1.1

After twelve years of marriage, Martha Washington commissioned noted artist Charles Willson Peale in 1772 to paint her husband’s portrait. The first life portrait for which George Washington sat, visitors would see it in the Front Parlor of Mount Vernon, along with two portraits painted in 1757 by John Wollaston of Martha, then wife of Daniel Parke Custis, and their two children.

Costing 18 pounds, 4 shillings, Washington’s portrait is full of references and symbols related to both his Colonial past and pre-Revolutionary present. It was the first of many that Peale would paint of the future president.