Minneapolis Institute of Art

Portrait of James Ward

Gilbert Stuart

Date

1779

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The sitter’s last name and initial, J. Ward, are inscribed on his dog’s collar. Gilbert Stuart, a Rhode Island native, painted this portrait while working in the London studio of his mentor, the American artist Benjamin West. The pose, costume, and canine companion overtly reference portraits of British royalty from the 1600s. Stuart went on to paint likenesses of U.S. leaders, including the image of George Washington seen on every dollar bill.

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