Charles Willson Peale, 
American 1741-1827- 

Portrait of George Washington, bust-length, wearing a dark blue coat with gold epaulettes and cream facings, a cream waistcoat, white stock and blue sash; 

watercolour on ivory, oval, 4.1 x 3.4 cm., held in a silver and metal mounted medallion. Ivory submission reference: 8CAVGCKL. 

Note: 
This rare and important portrait miniature depicts George Washington (1732-1799) as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Gazing calmly and confidently out at the viewer, and wearing the bold blue sash which signified his Commander in Chief status, Washington is portrayed as an officer at the height of his military career, a decade before he would become the first President of the United States. 
Renowned American portraitist Charles Willson Peale painted Washington several times throughout the latter's illustrious military and political life, and the present miniature appears to be derived from an initial sitting in 1779, when the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania commissioned Peale to paint a portrait of Washington commemorating the General's recent victories at the Battles of Trenton (1776) and Princeton (1777). The initial, full-length portrait that resulted from this sitting is now in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts [1943.16.2]. Peale went on to paint several more versions of his popular portrait, both in oil and in miniature, most of which are now held in museum collections. These include the full-length portraits in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Collis P. Huntington, 1897 [acc. no. 97.33.], the White House Collection, Washington D.C., and the Palace of Versailles [MV 4560]. A portrait miniature of Washington now in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts [1996.256] shows particularly strong similarities to the example presented here. 

Maryland-born artist Charles Willson Peale briefly apprenticed as a saddler before establishing himself as a portrait painter, becoming acquainted with fellow American painters John Hesselius (1728-1778) and John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Peale also spent several years in London, studying with American-born artist Benjamin West, PRA (1738-1820). It was in Britain that Peale became trained in the art of painting portrait miniatures, and he continued to import his supplies from Britain even after his return to the United States. 
During the Revolutionary War, Charles Willson Peale enlisted in the army, and fought alongside many of his sitters as a soldier, rising to the rank of Captain. He carried a case of miniature painting supplies with him during military campaigns, which allowed him to paint his fellow officers between battles. Writing to Benjamin West in 1783, Peale reflects: “I have done more in miniature than in any other manner, because these are more portable and therefore could be kept out of the way of a plundering enemy.” Peale is thought to have painted over 130 miniatures during the Revolutionary War, including portraits of other important figures such as Henry Knox (1750-1806) and Nathanael Greene (1742-1786), but it is for his iconic portraits of George Washington that he is best remembered. 

We are grateful to Emma Rutherford for confirming the attribution to Charles Willson Peale on the basis of in-person inspection.