George Washington

Gilbert Stuart

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Stuart's most popular portraits of Washington are the so-called Athenaeum type, of which there are as many as sixty replicas dating from the turn of the nineteenth century until the artist's death. Often disparagingly referred to as his "hundred-dollar bills"--after the price of each painting--the striking portraits not only provided an income for Stuart but also made him a major player in the development of Washington as a cultural icon, as the works sold far and wide.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art