217-Year-Old George Washington Visits Olympia for 125th
MEDIA RELEASE
November 4, 2014
Media Contact: Julianna Verboort, Public Relations and Communications Manager, 253.272.4258 x 3011, jverboort@TacomaArtMuseum.orgmailto:jverboort@TacomaArtMuseum.org
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217-Year-Old George Washington Visits Olympia for 125th Anniversary
of Statehood,
Courtesy of Tacoma Art Museum
Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) is honoring Washington's 125th anniversary of statehood with a Gilbert Stuart original. An American painter from Rhode Island, this artist's best known work - a handsome portrait of George Washingtonhttp://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-first-president/ten-facts-about-washingtons-presidency/ - will visit the state capital and share a photo opportunity with Governor Jay Inslee. On loan from TAM for the November 11 sesquicentennial, this important painting's short journey will be undertaken with care just days before it debuts as one of the stars in TAM's new exhibition Art of the American West: The Haub Family Collection,http://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/Page.aspx?nid=550 opening November 15http://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/Page.aspx?nid=557.
“This particular portrait was painted approximately 217 years ago, or circa 1797, and belonged to George Washington's nephew, George Steptoe Washington. Now it has found a home in the state that bears Washington's name. The sesquicentennial is a fitting and timely occasion to share this masterwork with the community in Olympia, as we prepare to celebrate its arrival at TAM,” said TAM's Director Stephanie Stebich. “Recognizing the significance of this new nation's independence and of George Washington as the first president, Gilbert Stuarthttp://www.gilbertstuartmuseum.com/ painted three portraits of Washington from life in the late 1790s. Washington's image was in such demand that Stuart painted more than 100 copies from his original portraits, yet we believe this to be the only one in our state.”
The 125th anniversary celebration takes place at the Legislative Building on the Capitol Campus in Olympia. The painting will be on view in the Senate Reception Room. At 1 pm, Governor Inslee and Secretary of State Kim Wyman will present welcome remarks to kick off the events. Washingtonians are encouraged to join in a coordinated tweet saying “Happy Birthday Washington #WA125” at exactly 3:09 pm, the timing of the telegram that announced statehood 125 years ago on November 11, 1889. Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota also joined the union that year.
Stuart painted his original George Washington portraits when there were only 16 states in the union, just three years before the great stateman's death at the age of 67. In 1869, the likeness from Stuart's portrait was added to the United Sates one-dollar bill. Its proud profile also became the basis for the silhouette marking state highways in Washington.
Like many American painters at the time, Stuart studied painting in Europe. He created more than one thousand portraits, among them James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, but he is most recognized for his portraits of George Washington. Washingtonians will be able to view this portrait among 130 works from the Haub Family Collection at Tacoma Art Museum beginning with the museum’s grand opening events on November 15, 2014. Art of the American West: The Haub Family Collection will be on view for one year, until November, 2015.
Image credit: Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755 ‑ 1828) Portrait of George Washington, circa 1797. Oil on canvas, 28⅛ × 243/16 inches. Tacoma Art Museum, Haub Family Collection, Gift of Erivan and Helga Haub, 2014.6.130
About Tacoma Art Museum
Founded by volunteers in 1935, Tacoma Art Museum has become an anchor in the city’s downtown corridor and a gathering space for connecting people through art. TAM’s collection contains more than 4,500 works from around the world, with an emphasis on the art and artists of the Northwest and West. The collection includes the most comprehensive public retrospective collection of glass by Tacoma native Dale Chihuly, the world’s largest collection of jewelry by Northwest artists, key holdings in 19th century European and 20th century American art, and one of the finest collections of Japanese woodblock prints on the West Coast. In 2012, TAM welcomed a promised gift of 295 works of Western American art in the Haub Family Collection, one of the premier collections in the nation and the first major Western American museum collection in the Northwest. With the addition of the Haub Family Collection and a new wing that doubles TAM’s gallery space, the museum expects to serve over 100,000 visitors annually.
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Children 5 and under free. Third Thursdays free from 5–8 pm. Members always free.
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