My Kitchen and Presidents' Day

This is one of my favorite photos of my kitchen. A few things have changed -- there is now a microwave on the counter to the left of my tall case clock. The electrical outlet behind the artwork on an easel was faulty and I finally had an electrician fix it along with a few others outside a while back. My kitchen table was a mess all weekend but I finished my taxes and am in the process of clearing it off again. 

Washington’s Birthday by Charles Baugniet, 1878 

Indianapolis Museum of Art

Read an interesting article in this link 

WHY WE HONOR GEORGE WASHINGTON 

When I was in school, we celebrated George Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays separately but now they are grouped together for Presidents' Day in order to have a long weekend.

George Washington February 22, 1732

Abraham Lincoln February 12, 1809

Have a great Monday.

xo

George Washington: Rare Miniature Portrait on Ivory

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A rare and important “H. Patterson Harris” portrait miniature of General George Washington, completed by Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741-1827) after his 1779 sitting and public commission to honor the “hero of the Philadelphia campaigns” was the top lot at Brunk Auctions March 25-26 sales, bringing $442,800 and selling to a private collector in the United States, bidding by phone, who was underbid by an American institution, also bidding by phone. It is the only known miniature of its kind that has ever been offered at public auction. Painted in watercolor on ivory, in what was presumed to be its original 18K gold case.

The miniature was accompanied by a period leather case lined with silk, a circular 18K gold locket containing a lock of hair purported to be that of Washington, a brass inlaid mahogany studio desk and its assorted contents, and a medallion that reads “CH Peale / to / Coleman Sellers.” 

The portrait miniature was published in Charles Coleman Sellers’ Portraits and Miniatures by Charles Willson Peale. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. Descended in the family of H. Patterson Harris of Westport, Conn.

That must have been a very exciting auction for the audience. They were so lucky to have been able to see this rare portrait of the father of our country in person.

Charles Willson Peale: (American, 1741-1827) Rare and Important Portrait Miniature of General George Washington, c. 1785, the "H. Patterson Harris" miniature, painted after Washington’s sitting with Peale in 1779, watercolor on ivory, 2 x 1-1/2 in.; presumably original 18kt gold case, pinned to silk lining of a period leather case, 3-1/4 x 2-1/2 in.; together with a circular 18kt gold locket containing a lock of hair, (purchased separately) purported to be that of General George Washington, 1 in. diameter, pinned to the opposite side of the period leather case; together with Peale’s studio desk and its assorted contents, mahogany with brass inlay, medallion reads “CH Peale/to/Coleman Sellers” Note: This miniature is one of the works completed after the famed Sitting of 1779. This additional information and photo found here.

Getty Museum Challenge Favorite

This is one of my favorite look-alike photos from the Getty Museum Art Challenge on Instagram. It is a strangely wonderful reenactment of a famous painting. Can you see it too? Have a great weekend. xo

Gorgeous Fireplace Garland

This is breathtakingly beautiful. Dried oranges and kumquats brighten a garland of olive boughs. Photo: @sanganphotography; Design: @putnamflowers via

A George Washington Collection

The 35 framed antique images of George Washington in Victoria's (The Queen Vee) new cottage in Utah. This photo was posted on Instagram where she is known as @queenv47 and she mentioned it in a recent comment on my blog. It took her 5 hours to hang this arrangement and I think she did a good job, don't you? It's always fun to see the efforts of someone you know, even a virtual friend! Two thumbs up, Victoria. xo

Mount Vernon: Beautiful Historic Rooftop Architectural Details

Detail of historic Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia via Simply gorgeous and so beautifully maintained.

George Washington's Headquarters Morristown NJ

General George Washington’s headquarters was established here at the Ford Mansion in Morristown, New Jersey on December 1, 1779.

I went here with my mom for a program at Christmas time three years ago. Must go again this year to see it all decorated for Christmas. It's a gorgeous building with a great museum. via

Folk Art Bust of George Washington

I love stories like this.

Early folk art carved bust of George Washington. Found as a finial on the top of a staircase in an old farmhouse in Sneedville, Tennessee. via

Ford Mansion - Washington's Headquarters

The Ford Mansion in Morristown, New Jersey was built by Jacob Ford, Jr. in 1774. My mom and I took a tour on a frigid Sunday in December. It served as George Washington’s Headquarters from December 1779 to June 1780.

The grand front entrance is beautiful. 

Doesn't this Park Ranger have an interesting job?

Nothing compares to 18th century wavy glass, does it? It appears that some of these panes are replacements. 

I'll post more of my iPhone photos from time to time. Read more about this historic site here.

George Washington's View on The Debt Ceiling

Hello Washington, it's George. Is anybody listening?

Flag Day

First US Flag ~ There are many theories surrounding the birth of the first US flag. According to the one that seems most probable, Betsy Ross, an American seamstress, was called upon by three members of a Committee from the Continental Congress in May 1776. George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross, asked Betsy to sew the first US flag, for which they had a design.

At the time, George Washington was the head of the Continental Army. Robert Morris was a very rich man, due to the large amounts of land he owned, and George Ross was an all around, well known man from Philadelphia.

Supporting this theory are records from Betsy Ross giving the exact sequence of how things took place. As mentioned before, in May, she was contracted by the Commitee and within a month or so, she completed what is now known as the first US Flag. The flag consisted of thirteen stripes and thirteen starts forming a constallation, which stood for the first thirteen states of the Union.

A month later, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud for the first time. With the new flag and the Declaration of Independence, a new nation was born.

Happy Flag Day.

George Washington | An Honest Man Quote

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George Washington by Gilbert Stuart

The finest and best and most reproduced portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart. Read the interesting history behind it.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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George Washington's Birthday

George Washington's Birthday is celebrated as a federal holiday on the third Monday in February. Before 1971, Washington's Birthday was one of nine federal holidays celebrated on specific dates, which—year after year—fell on different days of the week (the exception being Labor Day—the original Monday holiday).

George Washington was born in Virginia on February 11, 1731, according to the then-used Julian calendar. In 1752, however, Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, which placed Washington's birth on February 22, 1732.

I don't think too many people are remembering George Washington today. This holiday has become a day to shop. The banks and post offices are closed but all the stores are having sales. This year we have two major shopping days in a row...Valentine's Day and President's Day. Happy shopping. Sorry George.

George Washington Bookplate
Rare Million Dollar George Washington Stamp
George Washington Miniature Portrait

I think Abraham Lincoln's birthday has been lumped into Presidents' Day but I couldn't find a single reference to corroborate this fact. This one comes close. Am I correct?




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Maira Kalman's Final Post | By George

Say it isn't so! Maira Kalman's last blog post has appeared in The New York Times. It is dated December 31, 2009 which is very fitting for two lasts.

In her final installment of "In the Pursuit of Happiness," Maira considers George Washington's extraordinary life.

All of her previous installments are being turned into a book which will be charming for sure. I hope she does something else in the Times very soon. We'll all miss her, won't we?




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Timely George Washington Quote about Debt . . .

Isn't this the best quote you've seen in ages? It is over 200 years old and still rings true. Too bad it is not practiced. Our national debt is incomrehensible to me.

Image is a scan of one of my early 19th century antiquarian prints. Engraved by A. Daggett from the original painting by Colonel Trumbull.

rare George Washington miniature portrait acquired by Yale for $303,000 . . .

November 26, 1789 ~ (219 years ago today)
George Washington proclaimed "day of Thanksgiving"

Photo: Courtesy Skinner Inc., Boston.

NEW HAVEN, CT.- The Yale University Art Gallery announces the acquisition of Robert Field's portrait miniature of George Washington. Price paid: $303,000. What makes this miniature rare is its personal meaning to our first president's family. It was commissioned by Martha Washington in 1800 to commemorate her husband's life and to ease her family's grief. The 2-3/4" x 2-1/4" watercolor-on-ivory portrait is housed in its original locket; inset on the reverse over a woven lock of Washington's hair is a rose-gold "GW" cipher. Hair, which survives time and decay, was often incorporated into keepsakes of love and loss. Martha Washington gave this miniature to her step-granddaughter, Sarah "Sally" Stuart, and it has been passed down through the family since its completion in 1801.

Field's portrait of George Washington joins an extraordinary miniature of Martha Washington already in the Yale University Art Gallery's collection. Both were painted at her request by Field in 1801 as part of the same commission. The artist's informal portrait of Martha portrays her as a mourning widow, signified by the black ribbon on her cap. The miniature's locket has a decorative reverse adorned with sixty-seven pearls, George Washington's age at the time of his death. Martha Washington originally gave this miniature to her great-granddaughter, Frances Parke Lewis (Mrs. E. G. H. Butler). It was acquired by Yale in 1947.

Intended to be cherished by family members, these expressive keepsakes allow us to glimpse George and Martha Washington as a private couple rather than as public icons. The reunited pair will be introduced to the public in the Gallery's traveling exhibition "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art from the Yale University Art Gallery", on view at the Seattle Art Museum from February 26-May 24, 2009.

Portrait History: Robert Field (ca. 1769-1819) produced eight miniatures at Martha's request in 1800 to commemorate the revered President on the one-year anniversary of his death. Six of them, given to friends, showed him in civilian dress. Only two miniatures, given to family, showed Washington in full military uniform; one of these is the recent Yale acquisition.

Among the most accomplished British-born miniaturists working in America, Field painted portraits of prominent citizens-merchants, judges, generals, and politicians-in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, and Boston. In contrast to many American portrait miniaturists, who painted opaquely on small ivory disks, Field, who arrived in Baltimore in 1794, brought with him a more luminous technique for painting on a larger ivory. In this portrait, his crisp draftsmanship defines Washington's uniform. The artist's characteristically sinuous strokes transcribe the curving contours of Washington's face, with the glowing ivory support serving as highlights in the flesh tones and the vigorous sgraffito, or scraping, giving delineation to the eyelids and irises. Field posed Washington against a gray sky that brightens at right to draw our attention to the sitter's face. Washington engages the viewer with a slight but tender smile and an intimate, direct gaze.

The Yale University Art Gallery is a center for the study of American portrait miniatures. These reunited portraits of George and Martha Washington, painted as tokens of marital love and familial devotion, will be seen and studied by visitors, schoolchildren, scholars, faculty, and students for generations to come.