John Adams

Artist

Gilbert Stuart (American 1755–1828)

Date

about 1815

Medium

Oil on panel

Dimensions

26 1/16 x 20 13/16 in. (66.2 x 52.8 cm)

Description

One of several portraits of John Adams in the Athenæum’s collection, this canvas was painted from life in Philadelphia by Gilbert Stuart, the leading portraitist of the day. It was first owned by William Smith Shaw, nephew of Adams’s wife Abigail and the first Librarian of the Boston Athenæum. For some years, the painting was thought to be a copy after Stuart by his nephew Gilbert Stuart Newton and has only recently been identified as the original.

Credit Line

Gift of the estate of William Smith Shaw, 1826

Object Number

UR41