The painter Gilbert Charles Stuart, who lived from 1755-1828, was most well known for his portraits of which person?

As one of the foremost portraitists of the early American republic, Gilbert Stuart painted many of the era's most prominent figures, including five other presidents. However, his fame and legacy are inextricably tied to his iconic depictions of the nation's first president. Stuart had the rare opportunity to paint the celebrated leader from life on three separate occasions between 1795 and 1796, creating the images that would come to define him for future generations.

Of these works, the most renowned is the "Athenaeum" portrait. This iconic image, showing the subject from the chest up, was intentionally left unfinished by the artist. Stuart cleverly kept the original painting in his studio, using it as a master template to produce more than 60 replicas for eager patrons. He jokingly referred to these copies as his "hundred-dollar bills," as he sold them for that price. It is this specific, unfinished portrait that serves as the basis for the engraving of the president on the U.S. one-dollar bill, cementing Stuart's work in the daily lives of millions.