Artwork
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Gilbert Stuart. It dates from 1821 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Thomas Jefferson sits and looks straight ahead in formal dress, his face and clothing rendered with care. Gilbert Stuart painted this likeness of the famous statesman in 1821. To learn more about the technique behind it, look up glazing.
Subject & Meaning
Executed in 1821, this oil painting on wood panel functions as a formal portrait depicting Thomas Jefferson as its sole subject.
Executed in 1821, this oil painting on wood panel functions as a formal portrait depicting Thomas Jefferson as its sole subject. The work adheres to the conventions of the portrait genre, focusing entirely on the likeness of the former president without incorporating additional allegorical figures, complex iconography, or symbolic attributes described in the available records. As a straightforward representation, the piece serves primarily as a documentary record of Jefferson's appearance rather than an exploration of abstract political concepts or narrative meaning through visual metaphor.
The depiction centers on the individual himself, establishing the work's significance through its direct association with the historical figure rather than through layered symbolic content.
Technique & Style
Gilbert Stuart's 1821 portrait of Thomas Jefferson is executed in oil on wood, a support consistent with Stuart's small-format portrait practice of the early nineteenth century. The work is classified as a painting and falls within the genre of portraiture. Dimensions are recorded as 66 cm in height by 54.5 cm in width.
The painting is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it entered in 1979 after passing through the Gibbs and Coolidge families.
History & Provenance
Gilbert Stuart executed this oil-on-wood portrait of Thomas Jefferson in 1821. The work was originally commissioned for and owned by Colonel George Gibbs of Sunswick Farm in Astoria, New York. Following the Colonel's death, the painting passed to his widow, Laura Wolcott Gibbs.
In 1872, acting as the Gibbs family's agent, Jacob Hart Lazarus facilitated the sale of the portrait to Thomas Jefferson Coolidge of Boston; accompanying documentation from this transaction certified Stuart's authorship. Ownership remained within the Coolidge lineage, descending to the buyer's grandson, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge III, and subsequently to his son, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge IV. The family retained the work until 1979, when it was sold to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Context
The 1821 portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Gilbert Stuart exemplifies the artist's mastery of neoclassical portraiture and his influence in establishing a visual canon for early American statesmen. Scholarship traces the work's provenance from Colonel George Gibbs through the Lazarus sale to the National Gallery of Art, underscoring its historical trajectory. As a centerpiece of the Gallery's collection, the painting is frequently cited in studies of Stuart's technique and his role in shaping republican iconography, reflecting both the artist's wider context within early American art and the portrait's enduring significance in art-historical discourse.
Overview
Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Thomas Jefferson, painted around 1821, captures the American statesman in a formal pose. Executed in oil on wood, this work presents a direct gaze from the subject, emphasizing his presence. It stands as a significant example of Stuart's approach to depicting prominent figures of his era, offering a visual record of a foundational figure in American history.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Gilbert Stuart (né Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists.
