George Washington portrait up for auction in Geneseo

Posted at: 02/16/2010 9:28 AM | Updated at: 02/16/2010 8:01 PM
By: Ray Levato | WHEC.com

It appears to be an original masterpiece -- one of only about 100 in existence and it's going to be sold to the highest bidder at an auction in Geneseo.

A portrait of George washing has been Appraised as an authentic Gilbert Stuart portrait that's been owned by a Geneseo family since at least about 1860.

Sam Cottone of Cottone Auctions will hold the auction. Cottone said, “And it was one of those experiences where as soon as we saw it, it was an electrifying and magnetizing portrait.”

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when Washington first sat for Stuart, he was 63 years old and near the end of his second term as President.

Historians say Stuart painted three distinct Washington portraits including the famous unfinished one known as the Athenaeum, and the full-length portrait of Washington known as the Lansdowne.

Stuart is said to have painted at least one hundred versions of Washington, and sold them for about $100 each.

The Washington portrait has been in the Chanler family for generations, an old Geneseo family that can trace its lineage to John Jacob Astor.

Their ancestral home, Sweetbriar, is now a spa. Cottone said, “You know, you're in the presence to me of a masterpiece painting. That's what it says to me the more ai look at it, the more magnetism it has. And to think back that this was at the time when our country was founded. And this painting has been through generations and no one has ever disturbed the painting. They've never cleaned it. They've never done anything with the frame. It's just a time capsule of our country when it was founded.”
  
Cotton says the portrait to him says he's in the presence of greatness. “We have other important paintings and works by Tiffany and works by other great decorative art objects from prominent estates in Rochester and Buffalo and various locations. But this is certainly one of our star pieces.”

The auction in Geneseo is March 27. Cottone thinks the portrait could bring between $200 and $300,000 and that there may be bidders from around the country. He's putting together a catalog of the auction that reaches far and wide.

We checked with the National Portrait Gallery in Washington today but a curator didn't want to comment on this particular portrait because it is up for auction. And any comment she felt might influence the value.

George Washington's birthday by the way is February 22.

For more Rochester, N.Y. news go to our website www.whec.com.

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