12-28-2023 9:06pm

American History Buffs: The White House Historical Association

Donnella Tilery Editor

Image: White House Collection/White House Historical Association

Source Used by Permission - The White House Historial Association

Many Americans are familiar with the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of President George Washington hanging in the White House East Room, but did you know there is an accompanying portrait of First Lady Martha Washington? Although the 1797 George Washington portrait first hung on the walls of the White House in 1800, the Martha Washington portrait was painted many years later, in 1878. Artist Eliphalet Frazer Andrews created the portrait using an earlier head and bust portrait of Martha Washington, also by Gilbert Stuart. Andrews replicated Martha’s head from this earlier Stuart portrait to capture her facial features and then used a live model to draw the hands.Andrews made an unusual choice for Martha’s attire.

Instead of painting Martha in the style of her time, he depicted the first lady wearing a dress of his time. When the portrait was displayed, newspapers commented on the dress, noting that it was designed by the Parisian couturier Worth and was previously worn by a New York socialite, “Mrs. Darling,” for the nation’s centennial. In addition to the dress, the chair Martha rests her hand upon was not produced until many years after her death.

Despite these incongruities, First Lady Lucy Hayes lobbied Congress to purchase the full-length Martha portrait. Congress purchased the painting for $3000 and it was hung in the East Room, next to the George Washington portrait. It still hangs there today.Martha Washington was a precedent-setter and a founding mother and this month we shared some lesser-known insights about her — who she was, and how she used her influence during her time as first lady. Stay tuned as each month we examine a different first lady and their profound impact on the Executive Mansion and beyond.