Self-Portrait
1783
Here we see a young Gilbert Stuart, the man responsible for the face on the US one-dollar bill, caught in a moment of quiet creation. This octagonal sketch from 1783 shows the artist in profile, his curly hair tumbling forward as he writes or draws with intense focus. Rooted in the Neoclassical tradition of his time, the loose, energetic strokes capture a rare intimate moment before he became an American icon. Stuart was a chaotic genius who famously painted George Washington over 100 times just to pay off his mounting debts, often leaving works unfinished!
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