Paintings by Frank Kusch

Repoduction of Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington

I really enjoy portrait painting, and to challenge myself and attempt to paint like some historic and gifted painters, I decided to tackle Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington from 20 March 1797. Since the president has been deceased for more than 200 years and the original painting is held in a White House collection, my model became an 11x18 blow-up (courtesy of Costco) of a decent quality Public Domain photo of the painting from the internet (any larger and the photo became pixilated). I used oil on canvas, as Stuart did, and employed almost exactly the same size canvas as he did: 30’ x 24’. Williamsburg Handmade Oil Colors, M. Graham Oils, and Stevenson Oil Paints, with Princeton brushes, completed the project.