1865 Smith Portrait of George Washington

This is a c. 1865 William Smith portrait of George Washington, likely based on paintings by Gilbert Stuart. Lithographs such as this would have been hung in offices and homes, and especially in schools. During the mid-19th century, which saw the crises of the 1850s, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, the memory of George Washington was heavily promoted because Washington spanned the gap between the two opposing forces in the United States at the time. He was a plantation and slave owner from Virginia (a southern state) who was also a Federalist who believed a strong central government and a balance of power between the three branches of the federal government.

Publication History

This lithograph was created and printed by William Smith in Philadelphia c. 1865.