Washington Portraits by Stuart on View
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PrintTwo of the most famous portraits of President George Washington and his wife, Martha, painted by Gilbert Stuart, go on view at the National Portrait Gallery. The portraits were purchased jointly by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Smithsonian under an agreement that they would be displayed alternately for three-year periods. They will be in the National Portrait Gallery from 1980 through 1983. In March 1983 they are shipped to the Boston Museum. The Smithsonian had wished to purchase the paintings alone, but faced opposition from many in Boston who did not want the works to leave the city permanently.
Chronology of Smithsonian History
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
July 4, 1980