The American Portraits
Famous and Fabulous Portraits
from George Washington to the Golden Girl
The Arkell Museum
January 20 – July 20, 2008
Title: George Washington,
Artist: Gilbert Stuart (American 1755-1828)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions:
Permanent Collection:
Image Courtesy: The Arkell Museum
Money talks. Gilbert Stuart produced many portraits of the first President of the United States
of America: George Washington. It is his rendition of the father of the USA that appears on the nation's one-dollar
bill. It is an iconic image of a powerful hero to his country.
Historically, before the development of cameras, the way to remember the famous and infamous was through portraiture. Sitting for an artist meant one had made themselves memorable whether by act as in the case of George Washington or by birth commonly associated with Royalty.
Canajoharie, New York's Arkell Museum is home to an exhibit celebrating American portraiture. The Arkell's Chief Curator, Diane Forsberg,
selected works from the museum's permanent collection for Famous and Fabulous Portraits. Includes are portraits
by Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Eakins, George Bellows, Robert Henri, John Singer Sargent and George de Forest Brush.
George de Forest Brush was a native son of Shelbyville, Tennessee. Early in his career he studied with French Neo-classical artist
Jean-Léon Gérôme in Paris. His first success came with his portraits of Native American life. Naturally the artist preferred his own wife and children as sitters for his portraits. Brush's work influenced N C Wyeth.
Title: Golden Girl, 1925
Artist: George de Forest Brush (American 1855-1941)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Image Courtesy: The Arkell Museum
Little is known about the sitter for Golden Girl, yet her mysterious smile draws attention to this work. Wisely Diane Forsberg selected works that reflect both the famous and those about which little is know and yet for some reason their image is recorded for posterity. Famous
and Fabulous Portraits celebrates Americana and the spirit of the visages captured by some of the USA's finest portrait artists.
Famous and Fabulous Portraits
from George Washington to the Golden Girl
The Arkell Museum:
January 20 – July 20, 2008
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