George Washington Parke Custis
Medium
mezzotint and engraving in black on wove paper mounted to brown wove paper
Dimensions
image (irregular): 5.56 × 5.56 cm (2 3/16 × 2 3/16 in.) sheet (trimmed to plate): 6.83 × 6.19 cm (2 11/16 × 2 7/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of William Wilson Corcoran)
Accession Number
2015.19.1584.43.13
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
In the early 19th century, French engraver Charles B.. Févret de-Mémin captured the likeness of George Washington Parkeis in this intimate 1808 print. Custis, the adopted grandson and stepson of George Washington, was a prominent figure American society, known for his efforts to preserve his stepfather's legacy through relics, writings, and Arlington House. At just 27 years old Custis embodies the patrician elegance of the post-Revolutionary elite, his profile rendered with remarkable precision on a tiny scale—measuring a mere 5.56 cm square. Saint-Mémin, who emigrated to the United States in...
About the Artist
Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin
**Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin** Born on March 12, 1770, in Dijon, France, to marquis Bénigne-Charles Févret de Saint-Mémin, a former conseiller au Parlement de Bourgogne, and Victoire-Marie de Motmans, a creole from Port-au-Prince, Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin received a military education at the École Militaire in Paris, graduating in 1785. He served as a cad...