Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-06-14
HOW WASHINGTON LOOKED.
THE PORTRAITS THE FATHER OF
HIS COUNTRY SAT FOR.
Statucsquc Pose aud u Hitherto Un-
published Description OF His Ap-
pcarancc-A Giant in Size.

40 loi'i'ht w NiHcTcnt urtlStS, says
the New York Tribune. The most cole
bratcd portraits of him arc those of
Stuart, Trumbull and the Pcnlcs. Tho
first portrait painted by Sir Charles
Wilson Pcalc was executed in 1772.
Washington was then Colonel in tho
Virginia mlitin, and in the portrait he is
represented as wearing silver gorgct
engraved with the royal arms such as wns
then worn by officers of the British
service rs badge of authority. A
feature appearing in II later portrait by
the same painter, after the Revolutionary
War, is u blue sash or scarf, snid to have
been ut the time the insignia of Field
Marshal of France.
The lloudon head of Washington.
which has received tho approval of tho
Government by being printed upon post
nge stamps, il the standard head. A Gust
made by lIoudon himself from his life
mask is now in Now York in the posses.
sion of the daughter Of William Macdon-
aid, the sculptor. 1t was preserved ut
Mount Vernon for sixty years. In 1919
the late Clark Mills brought it to this
city to use in modelling the equestrian
statue of Washington, for which hc had
received commission from Congress.
MIR. Mills sent counterfeit back to
Mount Vernon and kept tho original life.
cnst in his own possession until 1873,
when he presented it to Mr.. Macdonald,
from whom it passed to his daughters,
This head is exquisitcly modelled, and is
much finer and, it is said. moro truthful
than the head Iloudon subsequently madc
for the statue he was employed to make
for the Virginia State House. The IIou-
don head in New York is all in plnstcr
except the tip of the cuc, which inving
been broken of was replaced with wax.
lloudOn, who ut the time wns Al the
height OF his fame MS II sculptor, WINS
chosen by Thomas Jefferson and BENJAMIN
Franklin, then in Pnris, TO execute the
statue which the Legislature of Virginia
had ordered. lie camc to America for
the purpose, and arrived at Mount Vernon
in October, 17S5. lie was Hospitality
entertained by Washington, who took
great interest in all the details of the
scupior's work. 1t is said lIoulon
sought in vain for several days 10 catch
Washington in II sintucsquc attitude, and
finally almost dcspaircd, One dny II man
came to sell Washington IL horse, and
asked an cxorbitant price for it. Wnsh
ington fired up Indignantly, md in his
anger assumed the attitude that lIou,lon
wanted. The sculptor whipped out his
crayon and made rapid sketch of Wash
ington ns he denounced the horse Jockey.
HoWlon not only secured II cnst of WISH
inglons head, but also took bnck with
him to France casts of different parts of
his body, and accurate measurements
from life. For his work he received n
thousand giipeas and expenses. lIc nc
ccptcd the order, il is stated, on the
promise of his distinguished patrons that
they would exert their influence to secure
Tor him the commission for tho equestrian
statue which Congress Ind resolved to
have made, II project which wns not cnr-
ricd out until many years had elapsed.
1t may be well for Wnshngton's
and for the standard of nrt in
America that the Original plnn of Con
grcss, agreed to August Z, 1888, To hnvc
an equestrian stntuc Of Washington mnde,
was not executed. The resolution di-
rcctcd "tllnt the statue be of bronze; the
Genernl to be represented in IL Roman
dress, holding u trunchcon in his right
hand and his head cncirclcd with laurel
wreath" The statue was to be mnde in
France, but I'M American sculptor named
Joseph Wright was employed to secure n
a life cast Of the face. Wright was shy
man and trcmblcd with awe when in the
great Washington's presence. When he
Ind removed the mould from Wash
ington's face, in his trcpidaiion he let it
fall and il was broken. Washington would
not then permit second trial. IL is
shat Wright gathered the
fragments of the broken mask
and put them together. A head
said to have been cast from this mask
stood in one Of the rooms OF the Capitol
and it is thought to have been DESTROYED
in the burning of that building in 1914.
There are other hcads cxtant said to have
been modelled on another lifc-cast made
by Wright. These heads are distinguished
by peculiar twist of the mouth This
is explained by statement made by
Washington himself to member of his
family. When the mould was made the
sculptor had Washington lie down upon
his back at full length on cot Then
ac oiled his features and danbcd them
over with plaster Mrs. Washington,
who was not apprised of the. proceeding,
entered just as the sculptor had applied
the plaster, and the sight was SO uncx-
pected and startling that she gave an in
voluntary scream. Washington, appre-
ciating the righteousness of the situation,
could hardly control the muscles of his
face, and his efforts to repress smile have
been recorded and perpetuated in marble
and bronze.
Washington, according to Houdon's
measurements, was six feet two inches in
height. lie was a giant in size and phys
icaf strength. Looking over the exten-
sive collection of old letters and memo
randa relating to Washington, in the
possession of Doctor Joseph NJ. Toner, of
this city, who is now engaged in editing
Washington's diaries, found copy Of
an interesting account of Washington's