George Washington
Medium
Pastel on toned (now oxidized) laid paper
Dimensions
9 3/8 x 7 3/8 in. (23.8 x 18.7 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Charles Allen Munn, 1924
Accession Number
24.109.97
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate pastel portrait of George Washington, created by James Sharples Jr. in 1796, captures the first U.S. president near the end of his second term, just a year before he retired from public life. Sharples Jr., part of a family of itinerant English pastellists who traveled through America in the 1790s, in small-scale profile likenesses of prominent figures. These intimate works were highly sought after by elites, offering affordable yet vivid commemorations of Revolutionary heroes amid the young nation's growing cultural identity. Executed in pastel on toned laid paper—now subtly oxi...