Why is the athenaeum unfinished

American artist Gilbert Stuart was commissioned to paint this portrait after the success of his first portrait of Washington in Martha Washington convinced the president to sit again because, according to artist Rembrandt Peale, she "wished a Portrait for herself; he therefore consented on the express condition that when finished it should be hers. After Stuart's death, the two paintings were purchased for the Boston Athenaeum, which owned them for more than years.

The portrait was then transferred and displayed at the Boston Athenaeum, where the portrait would get its name. Finally, in , it was sent to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where it remains today.

This is surely a result of the portrait serving as the model for the depiction of Washington on the United States' one-dollar bill. The importance of this unfinished masterpiece cannot be understated. Subscribe to our free e-letter! Your Email Address. Helena St. Lucia St. Martin St. Outlying Islands U. I agree to be emailed. The work has now become so reverently iconic, that it has superseded any other public image of Washington.

Today, over sixty copies survive. Stuart was the most prominent portraitist of his time and was the unofficial painter for many leading political figures of the new nation including John Adams and James Madison. The original collage includes individual colour microchips on Fabriano 5 gsm paper. Email info rhodescontemporaryart. Sign up for updates on exhibitions, print releases, artists news and events. This website uses cookies This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you.

For viewers, it raises some questions. Did the funds runs out? Was the commission cancelled? Did the artist feel compelled to quit because he was bored of the subject matter? Or, quite simply, did the artist die before the work was completed? Unfinished work is valuable, as evidenced by its inclusion in many notable art collections.

Unfinished art gives us insight into the artistic process.