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 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 PRESENTED BY / 
 

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Two hundred copies printed from type, August, 1900- 
 
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SOME ACCOUNT OF THE 
 
 "GIBBS-CHANNING" PORTRAIT 
 
 OF GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
THE GIBBS-CHANNING 
 
 WASHINGTON. 
 
 PAINTED BY GILBERT STUART, 
 IN POSSESSION OF S. P. AVERY. 
 
'ome Account of the 
 "Gibbs-Channing" 
 Portrait of George 
 ^Vashington ^^^ 2^1 2^^ 
 
 2^14 2^K Painted by Gilbert Stuart 
 
 Privately Printed 
 New York . i 900 
 
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 <\^ 
 
 4 Jrj'01 ^ 
 
^INCE the portrait of Washing- 
 ton, by Gilbert Stuart, known 
 as the " Gibbs-Ohanning " por- 
 trait, passed into the possession 
 of the present owner, he has 
 often been requested to loan it for various pub- 
 lic exhibitions, to allow it to be reproduced in 
 different forms, and as often has been solicited 
 to furnish information as to its history. The 
 general recognition that this pictorial rendering 
 of the "Father of his Country" is the most 
 worthy of the many likenesses made of him, 
 also that it is a supreme work of art by our 
 greatest portrait painter, which for perfection of 
 execution and immaculate condition stands pre- 
 eminent, fully justifies the following presenta- 
 tion of facts relating to its history and record- 
 
The " Gibbs-Channmg^' Washington 
 
 ing some of the critical praise which has been 
 freely bestowed upon it. 
 
 It may be in order to first give the following 
 letter fi-om Dr. Wilham F. Channing, from 
 whom Mr. S. P. Avery, of New York, pur- 
 chased the painting in 1889. 
 
 Dear Sir : You have requested me to furnish you with the 
 record of the " Gibbs " Washington, derived from the publica- 
 tions relating to it, from my own researches, and from family 
 tradition. 
 
 The " Gibbs " Washington is the representative picture of 
 Washington's first sitting to Stuart, in September, 1795. This 
 sitting originated the first type of the Washington portrait by 
 Stuart, showing the right side of Washington's face. The 
 Vaughan picture (painted for Samuel Vaughan,^ sent to London, 
 engraved by Holloway, and published there in 1796) and three 
 other copies which exist, belonging to this type, were all painted, 
 though perhaps not finished, in the latter part of 1795 or early 
 part of 1796. All are very inferior to the " Gibbs " Washing- 
 ton in individuality of handling and detail. The "Gibbs" 
 Washington was sold by Stuart, at an early date, to his warm 
 personal friend, Colonel George Gibbs (died 1833) of New York, 
 with the statement that it was on the easel while Washington 
 was sitting, and worked upon from life. At a later period 
 Colonel Gibbs, having purchased from Stuart a set of his Presi- 
 dents of the United States, sold the Gibbs picture to his 
 sister, Mrs. William Ellery Channing, who gave it, thirty 
 
 ■ Samuel Vaughan was a London merchant, resident for several years in 
 Philadelphia, and a great admirer of Washington. He is the Mr. Vaughan 
 who presented him with the handsomely carved mantel for Mount Vernon, 
 which Washington termed in his diary— "My marble chimney piece." Mr. 
 Vaughan took or sent the picture to London in the year in which it was 
 painted, and was there engraved by T. Holloway, and there published in 1796. 
 
 5 
 
The *' Gibhs-Channing" Washington 
 
 years ago, to her son Dr. William F. Channing, the present 
 owner and writer of this letter. The " Gibbs " Washington 
 has thus never been out of the possession of the Gibbs-Chan- 
 ning family since it left Stuart's hands. 
 
 The original picture, resulting from Washington's second 
 sitting, April, 1796, is the "Athenaeum" head, now in the 
 Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Stuart retained this picture 
 in his own possession, and, as he did not want the Gibbs 
 picture to come in competition with the head, which he had 
 selected to multiply in future years by numerous copies, what 
 more probable disposition could be made of it than to sell it 
 to his cherished friend, in whose discretion he could trust ? 
 From all the circumstances, and from the internal evidence of 
 the picture itself, my own conviction, shared by many artists, 
 has increased that the Gibbs picture is (in the most restricted 
 sense) the original of Washington's first sitting to Stuart. 
 The picture has been engraved for Elizabeth B. Johnston's 
 work, " The Original Portraits of Washington," 1882, in which 
 she praises it highly, adding, " It is a pity, and a marvel, that 
 it has not been more widely known." 
 
 Mr. George C. Mason, in his " Illustrated Life and Works of 
 Gilbert Stuart," 1879, furnishes a fine photogravure of the 
 picture as a frontispiece of the volume, and also an excellent 
 line-engraving, by Charles Burt, in the body of the work. Mr. 
 Mason says that " the finest, beyond all comparison," of the 
 Stuart portraits of the first type is the "Gibbs" Washington. 
 He adds: "The picture is superb, and in it the lower part of 
 the face, so much criticized in the well-known portraits of 
 Washington by Stuart, is remarkably well managed." Rem- 
 brandt Peale says, speaking of the Vaughan picture, an early 
 Washington by Stuart: "In the lower part of the face it has 
 the advantage over the other portraits that he afterward 
 painted." This quality, in a much higher degree, appears in 
 the Gibbs picture, with which Peale was probably unac- 
 quainted. The venerable A. B. Durand, when shown a photo- 
 
 6 
 
The " Gibbs-Channing" Washington 
 
 graph of it, said: "That is a likeness. It is much superior in 
 character to the Athenjeum portrait, and should be consid- 
 ered the standard: both the artist and the subject would 
 gain by it." He also said he wished he could have known of 
 it in earlier life, evidently meaning that he would have 
 engraved it, instead of the Athenaeum portrait. 
 
 The " Gibbs " Washington is distinguished by its dignity as 
 well as benignity of expression. The picture is in splendid 
 preservation, the colors, as in so many of Stuart's pictures, 
 retaining their original brilliancy. 
 
 I have a vivid recollection of the picture, nearly sixty 
 years ago, hanging with other portraits in the house of my 
 father, William Ellery Channing, in Boston. 
 
 Newport, Sept. 2, 1888. Wm. F. Channing, 
 
 Soon after the large " Anneline " photograph 
 was taken of the painting by Wm. Kurtz, a 
 copy of it was sent to Mr. Charles Henry Hart, 
 of Philadelphia, a literary gentleman who has 
 long been an acknowledged expert on subjects 
 of art connected with American history. On 
 the receipt of which he wrote as follows : 
 
 "KosEMONT, Pa,, January 18, 1896. 
 
 "My dear Sii' : I found the superb photograph 
 of your Washington awaiting me on my return, 
 and I cannot express myself in regard to the 
 original more strongly than I did in the ' Ameri- 
 can Art Review' for March, 1880, Vol. I, p, 
 219; as the volume may not be handy to you, I 
 will quote from my review therein of Mason's 
 
 7 
 
1 
 
The " Gihbs-Channing" Washington 
 
 Life of Stuart : ' For introducing this last- 
 named picture (Gibbs' Washington) to the public, 
 Mr. Mason merits universal thanks, and it is 
 only to be regretted that it has remained hidden 
 so long. Had it been known earlier, we feel 
 confident in asserting that the Athenaeum head 
 would not have become the accepted hkeness of 
 Washington. We had the privilege of seeing 
 the Gibbs portrait when it was in the engraver's 
 hands, and to say that it is noble as a portrait 
 and grand as a picture is but to express feebly 
 the impression it made upon us. In the first 
 place, it is what the Lansdowne and Athenseum 
 heads are not : it is the likeness of a man — a 
 man who has lived amono- men ; firmness and 
 gentleness, decision and moderation, thoughtful- 
 ness and power, all are depicted there. One 
 feels that Washington could have looked like 
 this, and it is not unlike the portraits painted by 
 other artists ; but no one can ever feel thor- 
 oughly satisfied that he did look like the Lans- 
 downe or the Atheuceum heads. . . .'" Quoting 
 still further from Mr. Hart's review, he says : 
 " That Stuart was a master in the art of portrait 
 painting it needs no argument to prove ; his 
 works are the only argument needed, and they 
 prove it most satisfactorily. Li his Hfe-like por- 
 
 8 
 
The " Gibhs-Ghanning" Washington 
 
 traits the men and women of a past generation 
 live again. Each individual is here, and it was 
 Stuart's ability to portray the individual that 
 was his greatest power. Each face looks at 
 you, and fain would speak, while the brilliant 
 and animated coloring makes one forgetful that 
 it is of the past. Stuart's pictures have come 
 down to us very Uttle injured by time, which is 
 doubtless owing to the use by him of pure colors, 
 and his manner of employing them." 
 
 The late Wm. S. Baker, of Philadelphia, the 
 well-known author of the " Engraved Portraits 
 of Washington," Philadelphia, 1880, and of 
 other historical and bibliographical works relat- 
 ing to Washington, thus expressed himself: " I 
 have received a copy of the splendid photograph 
 of the Gibbs-Channing * Washington.' I do 
 not remember to have seen the original, but am 
 exceedingly impressed with this reproduction 
 and can truthfully say with Durand that ' this 
 is a Mkeness and much superior to the Athen£eum 
 head.' I am olad that the original of so valu- 
 able a portrait of the ' Father of his Country ' is 
 in such worthy hands. I must regard it as the 
 portrait which is most consistent with the charac- 
 ter of that great man. . . ." 
 
 9 
 
The " Gibbs-Channing" Washington 
 
 Returning to Mason's "Life," G. W. P. Custis, 
 in his " Recollections and Private Memoirs," 
 says : " The first portrait of Washington by 
 Stuart created a great sensation in Philadelphia. 
 It was soon followed by the celebrated full- 
 length for the Marquis of Lansdowne.^ This 
 last was undoubtedly the next picture to create 
 a sensation ; but there was an interval of at 
 least a year between the painting of the first por- 
 trait and the full-length. . . ." Among Stuart's 
 papers the following fragment was found: "A 
 list of gentlemen who are to have copies of the 
 portrait of the President of the United States, 
 Philadelphia, 1 795 " (then follow several 
 names — Mr. Vaughan's being the only one 
 which has become famiUar); it is not at all 
 probable that these pictures were all painted ; 
 Philadelphia at that time was full of visitors ; 
 
 ' " The first full-length of Washington was a commission from the Marquis 
 of Lansdowne. When it was known that Stuart was to paint such a picture, 
 Mr. and Mrs. William Bingham (Mr. Bingham was a notable merchant of 
 Philadelphia) expressed a strong desire to be at the charge, and to be per- 
 mitted to present it to the marquis. Stuart, it is said, hesitated, but finally 
 yielded to their wishes, and Mrs. Bingham asked the president to give the 
 artist sittings. This was in April, 1796, as shown in the note from the 
 president to Stuart. ' Sir ;— I am under promise to Mrs. Bingham to sit for 
 you to-morrow, at nine o'clock, and wishing to know if it would be convenient 
 to you that I should do so, and whether it shall be at your own house (as she 
 talked of the State House) I send this note to ask information. I am, sir, 
 your obedient servant, Geo. Washington 
 
 'Monday Evening, 11. April, 1796.'" 
 
 This painting is now in the possession of Lord Rosebery. 
 
 10 
 
The " Gibbs-Channing" Washington 
 
 Stuart was crowded with orders for portraits, 
 and he was so overrun with callers that he was 
 forced, a little later, to remove to Germantown. 
 "... It is very easy to establish the fact that 
 the earher portraits show only the right side of 
 the face, but it is not possible now to say which 
 of the early portraits M^as the earliest. The 
 finest beyond all comparison is that owned by 
 Dr. WilHam F. Channing, of Providence, E. I. 
 It was painted for Colonel George Gibbs. The 
 warmest friendship existed between Colonel 
 Gibbs and Stuart, and we may feel sure that in 
 painting this picture the artist aimed to do his 
 best." 
 
 Mr. Charles Henry Hart, in "Harper's Maga- 
 zine " for August, 1896, in an article on "Stuart's 
 Lansdowne Portrait of Washington," has the 
 following regarding the pictures of the first sit- 
 ting to Stuart : 
 
 " Gilbert Stuart painted three original por- 
 traits of Washington firom life. They are 
 known to history, from their owners, in the 
 order of their painting, as the Vaughan, Lans- 
 downe, and Athenaeum pictures. The first is a 
 full bust, the second a whole length, and the 
 third a vignette head. The Vaughan portrait 
 
 11 
 
GEOIIGK WASHINGTON. 
 
The " Gibbs-Chamiing" Washington 
 
 shows the right side of the face, while the Lans- 
 downe and Athenseum heads show the left side. 
 
 " Stuart returned from England in 1792, after 
 an absence of seventeen years, and towards the 
 close of 1794 settled in Philadelphia, with the 
 ostensible object of painting a portrait of the 
 President, carrying with him, it is said, a letter 
 of introduction to Washington from John Jay. 
 Here in the following year he painted his first 
 portrait of Washington, a delineation unfortu- 
 nately not commonly famihar, but which, after 
 a careful study of the subject, I consider to be 
 the best and most satisfactory likeness of Wash- 
 ington that Stuart painted. 
 
 " There are but three pictures known of this 
 type from the easel of Stuart. One, the portrait 
 painted for Samuel Vaughan, of London, which 
 was finely engraved by Holloway for Hunter's 
 sumptuous edition of Lavater's "Physiognomy," 
 now in the possession of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, 
 of Philadelphia. Another, until within a few 
 years lost sight of, much finer than the Vaughan 
 portrait in execution, and with every indication 
 of being the original from life painted for Wil- 
 liam Bingham, and purchased at the sale of his 
 efiects at Philadelphia, in 1807, by the proprie- 
 tor of the Old Exchange Cofltee-house, in whose 
 
 12 
 
The " Oihhs-Ghanning" Washington 
 
 family it remained for eighty-five years, until it 
 came into the possession of the writer. And 
 the third, somewhat varied from the other two, 
 hut a very heautiful and impressive head, known 
 as the Gibbs picture, belonging to Mr. S. P. 
 Avery, of New York. 
 
 " For some unaccountable reason Stuart seems 
 not to have been satisfied with this, his first 
 attempt, and he had two later sittings, the last 
 one, or Athenaeum head, receiving his prefer- 
 ence. Yet he retained the Gibbs picture by 
 him for several years, and is said to have dis- 
 posed of it to Colonel Gibbs as his best work, 
 and only out of personal friendship. Likewise, 
 when William Birch desired to make an enamel 
 portrait of Washington, Stuart gave him his 
 first head to copy, and Washington stamped it 
 with his approval." 
 
 Mason mentions another of the same type as 
 being owned (1879) by " Mrs. Eogers, of Lan- 
 caster, Pa., a daughter of General Hand, of the 
 Revolution. . . ." EUzabeth Johnston has the 
 following notice of this picture in her work, 
 " The Original Portraits of Washington," foHo, 
 Osgood & Co., Boston, 1882 : " A very hand- 
 some copy of this first portrait is now in posses- 
 
 13 
 
The " Gibbs-C/ianning" Washington 
 
 sion of Mrs. Anna E, Reilly, of New Haven, 
 Conn. This lady is a great-grandclaughter of 
 the ' gallant Irish captain of the E evolution,' 
 General Edward Hand. The picture was pur- 
 chased in Baltimore in 1806, by Edward Brien, 
 of Philadelphia, who married General Hand's 
 daughter." The late Mr. Stockton Hough, 
 of Trenton, IST. J., told Mr. Avery that he had 
 seen this picture (1899) in possession of Mrs. 
 Reilly (nee Rogers), who was then living ;it the 
 Windsor Hotel. Mr. Hough described the pic- 
 ture as being a fair example of the artist, and 
 that the background was red. Another good' 
 Stuart, answering to the above description, is 
 now owned by Mr. George L. Rives of this 
 city, who has kindly furnished this clear pedi- 
 gree of it. "This portrait was for many years 
 in the possession of Professor George Tucker, of 
 the University of Virginia, the biographer and 
 fi'iend of Jefferson. How it came into Professor 
 Tucker's possession is uncertain, although it 
 may have been through his wife, who was 
 Maria Ball Carter, whom he married in 1802, 
 and who was a great-niece of General Washing- 
 ton. Erom Professor Tucker the portrait came 
 to his daughter, Mrs. George Rives, of Sher- 
 wood, Albemarle Co., Va., and was by her sold 
 
 14 
 
The " Gibbs-Channing" Washington 
 
 to Mr. Francis Rives in 1874, who bequeathed 
 it to his son, Mr. George L. Rives," 
 
 Stuart's third original — destined to become 
 the most known of his works — was a bust- 
 portrait, for which Washington consented to 
 sit at the sohcitation of his wife, of whom 
 Stuart painted a companion portrait during the 
 spring or summer of 1796. His fame now 
 l)urdened him with nuiltiphed demands upon 
 his time. To secure leisure, he left Chestnut 
 Street, and removed to Germantown, where the 
 Athenseum portraits were painted. Different 
 statements have been made as to why Stuart 
 never completely finished these portraits, and 
 retained them thus in his possession until 
 he died, Stuart's explanation is given by 
 Mr. Neagle, the artist, in these words: "Mrs. 
 Washington called often to see the general's 
 portrait, and was desirous to possess it. One 
 day she called with her husband, and begged to 
 know when she might have it. The general 
 himself never pressed it; but on this occasion, as 
 he and his lady were about to retire, he returned 
 to Mr. Stuart, and said that he saw plainly of 
 what advantage the picture was to the painter. 
 He therefore beg-sred the artist to retain the 
 
 15 
 
The " Gibbs-Channing" Washington 
 
 picture at his pleasure." Miss Jane Stuart's 
 version of the story is: "When General and 
 Mrs. Washington took their last sittings, her 
 father told Washington that it would he of great 
 importance to him if he could retain the origi- 
 nals, and that Washington consented, saying, 
 ' Certainly, Mr. Stuart, if they are of any con- 
 sequence to you; I shall he perfectly satisfied 
 with copies from your hand, as it will he impos- 
 sihle for me to sit again.'" Miss Stuart says 
 that the copies that were made were for Mount 
 Vernon. 
 
 This pair of (the unfinished) portraits re- 
 mained in the possession of his family until 
 1831, when they were bought from his widow, 
 for fifteen hundred dollars, by the Washington 
 Association of Boston, and other subscribers, 
 and were presented to the Boston Atheuseum; 
 at present they are loaned to the Museum of 
 ITine Arts, with other paintings belonging to 
 the Athenaeum. Of this picture Stuart made a 
 great many copies, good, fairly good, or poor, 
 as the mood or pressm-e permitted; he used to 
 call it his "nest egg," or his "hundred-dollar 
 bill," and when he needed money he would turn 
 one off rapidly. One of the best of these copies 
 
 16 
 
The " Gibbs-Ghanning" Washington 
 
 is now in the Walters superb collection at Bal- 
 timore. It was painted for Robert Gilmor, also 
 a noted collector of the same city; with the 
 picture came Stuart's receipt for the price of it 
 (one hundred and fifty dollars), and some lines 
 saying- that, painting it for such a distinguished 
 amateur, he had taken especial pains with it, 
 and hoped Mr. Gilmor would be pleased. After 
 the Gilmor collection was dispersed, this picture 
 became the property of Admiral Dahlgren, from 
 whose widow the late Wilham T. Walters pro- 
 cured it. 
 
 Some of Stuart's copies of this Washington 
 portrait have been destroyed by fire or other 
 accidents, others from want of proper care, in- 
 judicious cleaning, etc., have become worthless. 
 Stuart's daughter made quite a number of copies 
 of the same picture; James Frothingham, 
 Stuart's pupil, made several most excellent 
 copies, which to the unlearned might pass as 
 the master's work. Others have made copies, 
 from copies. Considering these facts, it is not 
 difficult to account for the numerous " Stuarfs 
 Washington" which are constantly turning up, 
 to the dismay of artist-judges and other genuine 
 experts. 
 
 17 
 

The " Gihhs-Channing" Washington 
 
 Washington Allston was asked to pronounce 
 a eulogy on Stuart, but he was forced to decUne, 
 owing to faiUng health ; he, however, wrote the 
 following obituary, which appeared in the 
 columns of the Boston "Daily Advertiser": a 
 memorial which in paying a just and beautiful 
 tribute to the genius of Stuart, did credit to the 
 heart of his brother artist. 
 
 (Bilbert Stuart. 
 
 asorn December 3, 1755. 
 I)lc£)3ulB27, 1828. 
 
 "Durinof the last week the remains of Gilbert 
 Stuart, Esq., were consigned to the tomb. He 
 was born in the State of Rhode Island, in the 
 year 1755. Soon after coming of age he went 
 to England, where he became the pupil of Mr. 
 West, the late distinguished President of the 
 Royal Academy. Stuart there rose to eminence ; 
 nor was it a slight distinction that his claims 
 were acknowledged even during the Ufe of Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds. His high reputation as a 
 portrait painter, as well in Ireland as in Eng- 
 land, having thus introduced him to a large ac- 
 quaintance among the higher classes of society, 
 
 18 
 
The " Gihhs-Channing" Washington 
 
 botli fortune and fame attended liis progress, in- 
 asmuch that, had he chosen to remain in Eng- 
 land, they would have doubtless awarded him 
 their highest gifts. But, admired and patron- 
 ized as he was, he chose to return to his native 
 country. He was impelled to this step, as he 
 often declared, by a desire to give to Americans 
 a faithful portrait of Washington, and thus, in 
 ■''%. some measure, to associate his own with the 
 name of the Father of his Country. And well 
 is his ambition justified in the subhme head he 
 has left us: a nobler personification of wisdom 
 and goodness, reposing in the majesty of a 
 serene countenance, is not to be found on can- 
 vas. He returned to America in 1792, and re- 
 sided chiefly in Philadelphia and Washington, 
 in the practice of his profession, till about 1806, 
 when he removed to Boston, where he remained 
 to the time of his death. During the last ten 
 years of his life he had to struggle with many 
 infirmities ; yet such was the vigor of his mind 
 that he seemed to triumph over the decay of 
 nature, and give to some of his last productions 
 all the truth and splendor of his prime. 
 
 " Gilbert Stuart was not only one of the first 
 painters of his time, but must have been ad- 
 mitted, by all who had an opportunity of know- 
 
 19 
 
The " Gibbs-Channing" Washington 
 
 ing him, to have been, even out of his art, an 
 extraordinary man ; one who would have found 
 distinction easy in any other profession or walk 
 of life. His mind was of a strons; and orimnal 
 cast, his perceptions as clear as they were just, 
 and in the power of illustration he has rarely 
 been equaled on almost every subject, more 
 especially on such as were connected with his 
 art; his conversation was marked by wisdom 
 and knowledge, while the uncommon precision 
 and eloquence of his language seemed ever to 
 receive additional grace from his manner, which 
 was that of a well-bred oentleman. " The nar- 
 rations and anecdotes with which his knowledofe 
 of men and of the world had stored his mem- 
 ory, and which he often gave with great beauty 
 and dramatic effect, were not unfrequently em- 
 ployed by Mr. Stuart in a way and vsdth an 
 address peculiar to himself From this store it 
 was his custom to draw largely while occupied 
 with his sitters — apparently for their amuse- 
 ment; but his object was rather, by thus ban- 
 ishing all restraint, to call forth, if possible, 
 some involuntary traits of natural character. 
 But these glimpses of character, mixed as they 
 are in all men with so much that belonofs to 
 their age and association, would have been of 
 
 20 
 
The " Gibbs-Channing" Washington 
 
 little use to the ordinary observer ; for the fac- 
 ulty of distinguishing between the accidental 
 and the permanent — in other words, between the 
 conventional expression which arises from man- 
 ners and the more subtle indication of the indi- 
 vidual mind — is indeed no common one; and by 
 no one with whom we are acquainted was this 
 faculty possessed in so remarkable a degree. 
 It was this which enabled him to animate his 
 canvas, — not with the appearance of mere gen- 
 eral life, but with that peculiar, distinctive life 
 which separates the humblest individual from 
 his kind. He seemed to dive into the thoughts 
 of men, for they were made to rise and speak 
 on the surface. Were other evidence wanting, 
 this talent alone were sufficient to estabhsh his 
 claims as a man of genius, since it is the privi- 
 lege of genius alone to measure at once the 
 highest and the lowest. In his happiest efforts, 
 no one ever surpassed him in embodying (if we 
 may so speak) these transient apparitions of the 
 soul. 
 
 " In a word, Gilbert Stuart was, in its widest 
 sense, a philosopher in his art; he thoroughly 
 understood its principles, as his works bear wit- 
 ness, — whether as to the harmony of colors, or 
 of hues, or of light and shadow, — showing that 
 
 21 
 
The " Gribbs-Cha7ining" Washington 
 
 exquisite sense of a whole which only a man of 
 genius can realize and embody. 
 
 " We cannot close this brief notice without a 
 passing record of his generous bearing toward 
 his professional brethren. He never suffered 
 the manliness of his nature to darken with the 
 least shadow of jealousy ; but where praise was 
 due he gave it freely, and gave it, too, with a 
 grace which showed that, loving excellence for 
 its own sake, he had a pleasure in praising. To 
 the younger artists he was uniformly kind and 
 indulgent, and most liberal of his advice, which 
 no one ever properly asked but he received, 
 and in a manner no less courteous than im- 
 pressive. The unbroken kindness and friend- 
 ship with which he honored the writer of this 
 imperfect sketch will never be forgotten. In 
 the world of art Mr. Stuart has left a void that 
 will not soon be filled. And well may his 
 country say, ' A great man has passed from 
 amongst us.' But Gilbert Stuart has bequeathed 
 her what is paramount to power, — since no 
 power can command it, — the rich inheritance 
 of his fame." 
 
 L.ofC. 
 
 22 
 
MATTERS OF FACT 
 
 In confirmation of Allston's reference to Stuart's "high 
 reputation as a portrait painter, as well in Ireland as in Eng- 
 land" (Stuart spent seventeen years there), the following 
 list of portraits of distinguished subjects painted during that 
 period, and engraved in mezzotint, and published from 1781 
 (only six years after Stuart arrived in London) down to 1806, 
 taken from John Chaloner Smith's work on English mezzo- 
 tints, will be found most interesting. These engravings are 
 all of folio size, and for the full lengths, of which there are 
 several ; the plates are extra large, and executed by the best 
 engravers of the period. Fine-proof impressions of some of 
 these plates fetch at auction sales sometimes as much as 
 the artist received for the original painting. It is amusing 
 to note the various ways the painter's name was engraved on 
 the plate. Often it was Stewart instead of Stuart, most fre- 
 quently it was C. G., then simply G. or J.— then Gabriel 
 which was affixed to the line engraving by James Heath of 
 the Lansdowne picture, published in 1800. One plate at- 
 tributed the painting to " Gainsboro and Stuart " (there is a 
 small line-engraving of J. S. Copley, the painter, which is 
 attributed to Gainsborough, but really painted by Stuart). 
 We give the name of the subject, name of the mezzotint en- 
 graver, and date of the publication (as per J. C. Smith) : 
 Fothergill, John, M.D., V. Green, 1781. Rogers, Rev. John 
 
 23 
 
The " Gibhs-Channing" Washington 
 
 (engraver's name not given), published 1785. Kemble, John, 
 as Richard III., G. Keating, 1788. Manchester, George Mon- 
 tague, Duke of, John Jones, 1790. Fitzgibbon, Lord John, 
 C. H. Hodges, 1790. Beresford, Right Hon. John, C. H. 
 Hodges, 1790. Cleaver, Eusby, Bromley, 1790. Leinster, Wm. 
 Robert, Duke of, C. H. Hodges, 1790. Grattan, Rt. Hon. 
 Henry, C. H. Hodges, 1792. Poster, John, Rt. Hon.,^C. H. 
 Hodges, 1792. Conyngham, Rt. Hon. Wm. B., C. H. Hodges, 
 1792. Brownlow, Rt. Hon. Wm., C. H. Hodges, 1792. 
 Jervis, Sir John, Robert Laurie, 1794. Carnarvon, Rt. Hon., 
 Earl of, W. Ward, 1795. Harvey, Captain John, /. Murphy, 
 1795. Shaw, Robert, W. Ward, 1797. Lewis, John, R. Field 
 (no date). St. Vincent, the Earl of, /. R. Smith, 1797. St. 
 Vincent, the Earl of (quite a different picture), W. Barnard, 
 1798. Duke of Northumberland, Charles Turner, 1804. Mal- 
 ton, Mr. Thomas, Wm. Barney, 1806. Preston, Rev. William, 
 W. Dickinson (no date). Sidney, Lord Viscount, Jno. Young 
 (no date). 
 
 (Mr. Avery has a set of these rare mezzotints.) 
 In addition to the above, numerous other engravings have 
 been published in England from portraits painted by Stuart, 
 during his residence abroad, executed in line or stipple, by 
 Wm. Sharp, Bartolozzi, Facius, Meyer, Holloway, Ridley, Hull, 
 Fry, Caroline Watson, and others. 
 
 The "Gibbs-Channing" Washington, by Gilbert Stuart, 
 1795, measures 25 by 30 inches— a favorite size of Stuart's ; 
 it is painted on canvas with a kind of surface generally used 
 by him. The head and features are firmly modeled, the flesh 
 has those delicate gradations of carnation which he handled 
 so ably, rich and refined at the same time ; the black velvet 
 coat has all the texture and sheen of the material itself, no 
 part being at all vague, the white shirt-ruffle shows that firm 
 and peculiar " touch " which artists have always admired in 
 such details by Stuart. The background is made up of a cur- 
 
 24 
 
The '' Gibhs-Channing"' Washington 
 
 tain, exquisitely expressed in delicate shades of olive-green- 
 gray color; at the right is an opening with a landscape sug- 
 gested. This treatment is a distinguishing feature of this 
 particular representation of the first sitting, each of the other 
 examples having red backgrounds. It is seldom that a work of 
 art has remained so long in the one family, over eighty years 
 have passed during its ownership by three persons — sacredly 
 guarded, never tampered with, perfectly transmitted. 
 
 The earliest public exhibition of this painting of which we 
 have found any record is when it was on view, with a consid- 
 erable number of Stuart's portraits, at the Museum of Fine 
 Arts, Boston, during the summer of 1860, when it attracted 
 admiration, surprise and discussion. Previous to that time it - 
 could only have been seen by the personal friends of the 
 Gibbs and Channing families. Mr. Avery never saw the pic- 
 ture until 1888, when it was in the care of the poet, Mr. E. C. 
 Stedman (a relative of Dr. Channing), who put it on view, for 
 an evening, at a monthly meeting of the " Century " Associa- 
 tion, New York. Later on Mr. Stedman sent it to the loan 
 exhibition in commemoration of the centennial of Washing- 
 ton's inauguration 1789-1889, held at the Metropolitan Opera 
 House, New York, 1889. Soon after this Mr. Avery pur- 
 chased the picture. It was next seen in a loan collection at 
 the National Academy of Design 1893-94. During several 
 months in 1896, it was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in 
 a retrospective collection of paintings by American artists, 
 and at the Union League Club, New York, February 22, 1897. 
 It next figured in the exhibition of engraved portraits of 
 Washington held at the Grolier Club, December, 1899, in 
 commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of his death. 
 
 The first reproduction of this work of which we have any 
 knowledge, is a small pliotograph taken 1879 by Coleman & " 
 Co., of Providence, R. I., for Dr. Channing, and which was 
 used for the fine line-engraving made by C. Burt, who put in a 
 plain, flat background, omitting the curtain and landscape 
 
 25 
 
The " Gihbs-Ghanning" Washington 
 
 glimpses, and also for the photogravure by Goupil, of Paris, 
 both appearing in the handsome quarto vol.: "The Life and 
 Works of Gilbert Stuart," by Geo. C. Mason, Chas. Scribner's 
 Sons, N. Y., 1879. There is a large photo-print (rather black) 
 of this picture in Elizabeth B. Johnston's work, " The Original 
 Portraits of Washington," folio, Osgood & Co., Boston, 1882. 
 It was engraved on wood by G. Kruell, from the Coleman 
 photograph, for " Harper's Magazine," April, 1889, to accom- 
 pany an article on the Centennial celebration. It was also 
 represented (but why in an oval form?) in the official " History 
 of the Centennial Celebration of George Washington as First 
 President of the United States," edited by Clarence Winthrop 
 Bowen, Esq., Ph.D., Appleton & Co., 1892. A most excel- 
 lent photograph by the "Anneline" process, size 10x13, was 
 taken direct from the painting for Mr. Avery by Wm. Kurtz, 
 1895. A "half-tone" engraving from that photograph was 
 reproduced for " Harper's Magazine," August, 1896, as one of 
 the illustrations to Mr. Chas. Henry Hart's article, " Stuart's 
 Lansdowne Portrait of Washington." And Thos. Johnson, 
 the engraver on wood, executed a very successful rendering 
 from the Kurtz photograph (assisted by a close study of the 
 painting), which appeared in " Scribner's Magazine " for June, 
 1898, for Lodge's " Story of the Revolution." 
 
 The reproductions by the "Albertype" process of the Gibbs-Channing 
 painting, the engraving by Holloway of the Vaughan painting, and the por- 
 trait of Stuart, after Neagle, were made for this little history by Mr. Edward 
 Bierstadt, N. Y. 
 
 26 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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