The Little Germantown House of Gilbert Stuart, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Little Germantown House of Gilbert Stuart, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
House in which Gilbert Stuart Worked. The Famous Gilbert Stuart Studio. Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Circa 1870s.
Taken from a newspaper clipping of the late 19th century:
“Gilbert Stuart was, strictly speaking, not a resident of Germantown, and his sojourn in the place was of short duration, but while he was here he painted one of his most famous portraits of Washington, and for this given a place in this list. He was born in Rhode Island in 1755, and was originally given the name of Charles by his father, a rank Jacobite, but the son dropped it as soon as he knew enough to do so. He evinced a passion for painting when a very small boy, but had no regular instruction until he was fifteen, when he entered the studio of Cosmo Alexander, a Scotchman. Two years later when Alexander returned to Europe he took Stuart with him, but died soon after, and a year or two later he found himself without any money whatever. It is said that he worked his way back to this country as a sailor. He returned to England in 1775, where he found very poor employment for his pencil, and suffered at times extreme poverty. At length he sought out Benjamin West, who gave him assistance and aided him in opening a studio in London. In time his fame grew, and in 1792 he returned to this country and opened a studio in New York. He remained here only two years and then came to Philadelphia and opened his famous studio in Germantown, where he painted one of his famous portraits of Washington. Later he removed to Washington, and finally to Boston, where he died in 1828.”
Photo and information courtsey the Free Library of Philadelphia.
