The re-apotheosis of Washington - exhibitions commemorating George Washington's 2nd centennial death anniversary

Magazine Antiques, Jan, 1999

The death of our first president on December 14, 1799, occasioned a national outpouring of grief that soon manifested itself in a flood of memorial objects. Images of Washington were affixed to anything and everything: memorials stitched by schoolgirls, silk handkerchiefs, glass flasks, painted portraits by both academic and untutored artists, and engravings depicting him rising to heaven atop billowing clouds. Incredibly, these images continued to be produced for nearly a century, with an acceleration as the centennial of his death approached.

Once again, this man of mythic proportions has risen from the ashes, this time as the subject of a number of exhibitions throughout the country held to coincide with the bicentennial of his death. The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association (a group of women who rescued the president's house and tomb from dilapidation in the 1850s) has led the crusade in several ways. Among the first exhibitions is one on view at the New-York Historical Society in New York City until February 22. The show, which travels to four other locations and is sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, is entitled Treasures from Mount Vernon: George Washington Revealed.

The show is small but the installation is impressive, instantly inspiring the childlike sense of wonder in all of us. It is perhaps the perfect way to introduce children to the American presidency and life in earlier times. Lighting plays a big part in the success of the installation. In the introductory gallery, where light levels are low, one is immediately seduced by a beautifully spotlit and utterly mesmerizing plaster copy of Jean Antoine Houdon's life mask of Washington of 1785 (illustrated on p. 34). Also in this gallery is a mannequin outfitted in Washington's clothes, which confirms that he was a man of enormous physical stature even before his military accomplishments and political career elevated him in the national consciousness. Other highlights include a re-creation of the type of tent Washington used during the Revolutionary War when he commanded the Continental army Once inside, only a glass partition separates the viewer from his camp bed, blanket, eating utensils, and arms of various sorts.

Washington's domestic life is evoked by such objects as what are said to be his wife Martha's wedding slippers (illustrated above) and a baby cap she made, presumably for her first great-grandchild, who was born in 17%. Two letters from George to Martha, on view in rotation, are all that are known to survive because she burned all their correspondence at his death. Slavery as it existed at Mount Vernon is addressed through documents and objects recovered during archaeological digs of the slave quarters there.

The issue of Washington's fame in an age before ubiquitous paparazzi photographs is conveyed through a number of prints. The exhibition closes with what is surely a promotional pitch for Mount Vernon, but is a garden of delights for children: a one-inch to one-foot-scale furnished replica of Mount Vernon complete to the last carpet tack. And, if that were not enough, the walls of the house are mechanically lowered at timed intervals, revealing the contents of the three floors.

Two related exhibitions at the New-York Historical Society do much to amplify Treasures from Mount Vernon. The first, entitled The Power and the Glory: George Washington and the Birth of Fame in America, examines in more detail the plethora of objects adorned with Washington's visage. Drawn from the society's eclectic collections, it includes everything from Gilbert Stuart's legendary portrait to advertising posters, a taffy wrapper, cereal boxes, and dolls. Relics associated with Washington are also on view, including a desk, a lock of his hair, and even a piece of wood taken from his coffin when he was reinterred at Mount Vernon. The second exhibition, George Washington: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times, is drawn from the Gilder Lehrman Collection and the society's own material. It includes manuscripts, documents, maps, and books. Both exhibitions are on view until February 22. There are no catalogues of these exhibitions.