The Painter and the President

Praise

★ “An account of the rocky relationship between the U.S.’s first president and his most famous portrait painter… A timeline at the end daubs in further biographical details about the disparate duo, and the whole not insignificant historical anecdote is capped by closing comments on Washington’s “tooth troubles” and why his picture on the dollar bill has him facing the other way. The result is a humorous yet enlightening work that humanizes seemingly distant or imposing figures. A lighthearted, illuminating, and thought-provoking look at a brief but meaningful historical moment.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“The Painter and the President spotlights the relationship between America’s first president and Gilbert Stuart, one of the many artists who tried to capture his image on canvas. By the time of Washington’s presidency, Stuart had made a fine reputation as a portraitist. Although many of his subjects loved sitting for him, the laconic George Washington was not one of them. Sarah Albee and Stacy Innerst cleverly celebrate this relationship by looking at the many ways the painter tried in order to get a true portrait of America’s first president.”—Mary V. Thompson, research historian emerita, George Washington’s Mount Vernon