Antique Portrait of George Washington, by William Matthew Prior, circa 1840s

Antique Portrait of George Washington, by William Matthew Prior (American: 1806 – 1873), circa 1840s, an oil on board quarter-length portrait of George Washington, after the famous, iconic portrait by Gilbert Stuart. A warm and carefully rendered painting that is faithful to the original, presented in it’s original faux grain painted frame. Prior painted many of these Stuart portraits for sale, and although unsigned (as is typical) it is positively attributed. Compared to many other known examples, this is one of Prior’s best work: there is a soft folk art mood while retaining the realistic detail of Stuart’s original, and the hair in particular is brilliantly executed in a manner I think superior to Stuart.

William Matthew Prior was the son of Captain William Prior, a sea captain, and Sarah Bryant Prior, born in Bath, Maine, on May 16, 1806. Prior completed his first portrait in 1823, at the age of 17 after training under Charles Codman, another Maine-based painter. Prior moved to East Boston in 1840 with his in-laws, notably fellow painter Sturtevant J. Hamblin, to further his career as an artist. The paintings of Prior and Hamblin, when unsigned, are so similar in style as to be indistinguishable, and are commonly attributed to the “Prior-Hamblin School”. Prior died on January 21, 1873, and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, Massachusetts.

About 1,500 portraits are attributed to Prior. His works are in many museums and institutions around the United States including the Harvard Art Museums, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the National Gallery of Art. He was the subject of an exhibition: “Artist and Visionary: William Matthew Prior Revealed”, shown at the Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, New York (May 26 – December 31, 2012) and subsequently at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City (January 24 – May 26, 2013).

Measures: 19 in H x 15 in W