Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-10-13
roRrRAlTs or WASHINGTON
Rembrandt Pcaic's Account of HOW '"'
ri,.st President Sat for His Father

Rembrandt peaie's Account of no" '"'
,.,,.., president sat for His Father.
Rembrandt Peale the artist who painted
49,, fa,rors hut horrible in its subject ana
,,,o-rostiycness. picture, 1.-THE Court OF
D4a,t y ,,as son of the also famous Charles
when peole. who painted from personal
sittiugs several portraits OF Wast,ns' on'
s''.."e s,,. ;,,teryiev he said: washington
rayc sittings TO Stuart and my iatnei az I'M ~
same time, and was often WIN nun. ms
was when he was president-aooue i'ef.
sa, for my father in the quiet early n'oi ms,
before his state toilet had been maue' ''".,
when he a',peared to the eyes OF the enarn ~,
observer S :,ply as George washington, 'no ~,
man and citizen. He was then aoous -
voars old, and the tolls and triais i" no" no
had passed through as the commander ., '.o
army and the quite as great cares VI o..
wears of the presidency, added to the welsno
of Increasing wears, had told with no ilt,'e
severity upon his tall, stately and still lnpos-
inc, frame and features. His somewhat thih
hair was gray; years and fears ana cares
b,d all left trnces on his face, and his teeth
h,;ng zone. the lips and checks and lines
obnnt the mouth were somewhat depressed
and contracted My fathers portrait o.
him. repeated Mr. Pcale, twas exactly Oh
| Washington as he really was while he was
the man only, and before ho had prepared
himself, AS president, to enter upon ms, more
especially then than now, arduous duties as
| chief executive of the great but very young
| republic"
sBut why it was asked, "the two por-
| traits beiup painted ut the same time, should
Stuart's be so very unlike your fnther 81
"Simply because" continued Peale, las
have already stated, Washington gave ms
| sittinns to Stuart on the same day, but AFTER
| a careful preparation of his state toilet; and
he was exceedingly, almost austeiely nice III
all matters of conventional dress and deport-
n,ant. Indeed, the remove from the manners
and customs of England's monarchy was so
recent and SO slight that the social atmos-
phere of the White House partook largely OF
the etiquette of the court, and the expected
and practiced department OF the executive
chamber was as formal in degree as that
which had been necessary in order to have
audience with the king.
.This state toilet, among other things, IN
cluded the careful combing and powdering OF
the hair and the tying of it in cue; also
discreet make up of the face, and, most
noticeable of all, the fitting into the mouth OF
full set of false teeth Now, the art and
skill of the dentist in those days had not at
tanned to very perfect imitation OF nature,
and the plates being large and clumsy, gave
to the mouth and whole lower portion OF the
face that fiat, full, square and unnatural ap-
pearance which all careful observers of
Stuart's great portrait cannot fail to observe,
and which is very often questioningly re-
marked upon. This portrait was adopted as
harmonizing more fully with the courtly
conception of what the personal appearance
and habiliments of one in so great authority
should be, but as a portrait, it is of the
president rather than of the man, and is te
be regarded as the ideal, rather than as the
real Washington"-A. s. Pease in The Sara
togian.