265. PORTRAIT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Attributed to Jane Stuart, (American 1816-1888). The youngest daughter of famous portraitist Gilbert Stuart, she also became a noted portraitist from a studio in Boston and did numerous copies of her father's well-known paintings of George Washington. Other artists also copied these portraits, but hers are credited with being some of the best including the one in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The portrait, unsigned, is an oil on canvas, 281/2" x 24", framed, minor retouching and craquelure not affecting the image. This familiar image, known as the Athenaeum portrait was originally painted from life by Gilbert Stuart. The President, then 63 years old, grumbled about the drudgery of posing, and all of Stuart's wit and wisdom failed to interest him. The artist claimed that "an apathy seemed to seize him, and a vacuity spread over his countenance, most appalling to paint". Nevertheless, the portrait, has spontaneity because of its relatively quick, sketchy painting technique. The warm tan underpainting shows through the thinly brushed hair, while slashes of pigment model the black queue ribbon and form the highlights of the collar and cravat. A striking and highly impressive work. Should be viewed. $6,000 - 8,000