2-999-981 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

George Washington, c1800. This miniature is a reduced copy of a full-sized oil painting by Gilbert Stuart of George Washington: the so called "Athenaeum type," after the best known example in the Boston Athenaeum. The high-lights are enhanced by strips of silver foil applied at the back of the ivory. After Washington's death in 1799 miniatures of him were very popular among Americans who wore and displayed them as a sign of respect, patriotism and mourning well into the 19th century.