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George Washington

Object Details

Exhibition Label
This heroic sculpture depicts George Washington as a Roman emperor, a popular European tradition for representing political and military leaders. The portrait is based on a likeness modeled in Philadelphia in 1791 or 1792 by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi, who came to the United States seeking the commission for a congressional monument to Washington (which was never made). A plaster cast of his life portrait of Washington was acquired in 1809 by Thomas Appleton, American consul in Livorno (Leghorn), Italy. A decade later, Italian sculptor Massimiliano Ravenna made several marble copies of the portrait for sale in the United States.
Provenance
(Peter Hill); purchased NPG 1970
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Date
c. 1819 copy after 1792 original
Object number
NPG.70.4
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Attribution
Massimiliano Ravenna
Copy after
Giuseppe Ceracchi, 4 Jul 1751 - 31 Jan 1801
Sitter
George Washington, 22 Feb 1732 - 14 Dec 1799
Topic
George Washington: Male
George Washington: Military\Army\Officer\Revolution
George Washington: Politics and Government\Statesman\Colonial Statesman
George Washington: Natural Resources\Agriculturist\Farmer
George Washington: Military\Army\Officer\General
George Washington: Politics and Government\President of US
George Washington: Science and Technology\Engineer\Surveyor
George Washington: Congressional Gold Medal
Portrait
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
69.5cm (27 3/8"), Accurate
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Sculpture
Record ID
npg_NPG.70.4
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm43e89fb17-0780-4ad8-9788-99f30ce5d515

Related Object Groups

  • Presidential Portraits

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International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer
3d model of George Washington
3D Model
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