A study commissioned by the Office of Cultural Heritage proved with a high level of confidence that the Washington at Princeton painting gifted to the State Department was painted by Charles Wilson Peale. Photo courtesy of the Office of Cultural Heritage
Feb. 19 (UPI) — There has been an air of doubt about a painting of President George Washington that was gifted to the State Department in an art patron’s will more than three decades ago.
Any doubt that the painting was not authentic was put to rest following an extensive study commissioned by the Office of Cultural Heritage.
The art patron who passed on the portrait in 1989 claimed the Washington at Princeton piece was painted by Charles Wilson Peale, but she had little documentation to support this claim, according to the Office of Cultural Heritage.
The painting is a portrait of Washington following the Battle of Princeton. Peale painted the portrait numerous times beginning in 1779, recreating his work to share with the world. Peale was known for his portraits of prominent American figures during the Revolutionary War.
Several experts cast doubt about the painting. Ralph Blumenthal of The New York Times writes that it was believed to be “overpainted” with a “mushy looking” face.
“It didn’t look like any other portraits in the series,” Lauren Hall, a conservator with the Office of Cultural Heritage told The New York Times.
Until 2022, the painting was only marked as being attributed to Peale. A scientific study into the paint materials, the eyes of several more experts and more historical evidence have given the Cultural Heritage office a “high degree of confidence” that Peale painted the portrait himself.
“We thank the American and French partners involved and the Office of Cultural Heritage for their work confirming that our treasured Washington portrait, displayed in the Louis XVI salon of the Ambassador’s Residence for the last 38 years, is in fact the original Charles Willson Peale painting lost to the art world for 60 years,” Denise Campbell Bauer, U.S. ambassador to France and Monaco, said in a statement.
The painting hangs in the U.S. Embassy Paris Ambassador’s Residence.
The Cultural Heritage office said the research into the Washington at Princeton painting will help inform future art conservation.
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Tami Culton