George Washington, Patriæ Pater

This important early American lithograph reproduces Rembrandt Peale’s famous “porthole” portrait of George Washington, titled Patriæ Pater (“Father of the country”). The artist envisioned this dramatic, idealized image as the authoritative portrait of the first president. For three months, Peale worked obsessively on the original painting in his Philadelphia studio, combining his likeness of Washington, made from life in 1795, with the best features of works by other artists. He then copied the “ideal” painting multiple times.