General Amasa Davis
ca. 1820
Gilbert Stuart, the man who gave us the George Washington on the dollar bill, brings his signature charm to this portrait of General Amasa Davis around 1820. The general sits comfortably in a plush red velvet chair, sporting a fashionable high white cravat and a dark coat that contrasts sharply with his rosy cheeks and wispy white curls. Stuart was a master at capturing the personality of his sitters, and here he perfectly balances the subject's military authority with a remarkably approachable, almost grandfatherly warmth. It's a fantastic example of early American portraiture, showing how the newly minted republic's leaders wanted to be seen: dignified, yet distinctly human.
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