Charles Willson Peale, "George Washington", ca. 1780-1782 | Bridging the gap

Hi, I'm Will Knauer, a museum educator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and this is Bridging the Gap, a series of digital art engagements. In this segment, we will be looking at a painting of George Washington by the artist Charles Wilson Peale. It will be helpful to have paper and something to write with to respond to the prompts in the video. Please pause the video to collect what you need. Before we get started discussing this work of art, let's take a few moments to look closely at it. Start by letting your gaze wander around the work of art, taking notice of some of the details, such as the colors the artist is using and objects you recognize in the painting. Please pause the video to give yourself a few moments to look. Great, now that we've had a chance to look at our work of art, let's start identifying some of the things you've noticed. I would like you to write down five small details you noticed about this work of art. Go ahead and pause the video and write down your five observations. Please unpause it when you have them written down. Excellent, thank you for doing that. What were some of the things that you have noticed? One thing I noticed was that the hat he is holding has white ruffles on it. This type of painting is known as a portrait. A portrait is a painting that focuses on one or more people in order for us to see them and understand who they are. An artist will usually include objects and scenery to help us better understand who that person was. What can this large portrait tell us about George Washington at this point in his career? What does he seem to be doing, or feeling, or thinking at this moment? What situation do we think he might be in? And how can the details in this painting help us figure that out? I would like you to write down what situation you believe George Washington is in at this moment. Think about all the clues in the painting that might tell us where he is, what he is doing, and what his job or role might be. Please pause the video while you write down at least three sentences explaining what situation George Washington is in. Unpause it when you have finished. Great, thank you for doing that. The more I look at this painting, the more clues and details I notice. Did anyone think that this painting shows George Washington before he was president? Well, if you did, you are correct. In fact, this painting shows George Washington at a very important moment in his life. This work of art depicts him as a general at the Battle of Yorktown, the final battle during the Revolutionary War. This was the moment the British were defeated and America won its freedom. The Battle of Yorktown ended on October 19th, 1781. However, it wasn't just Americans who were fighting off the British. The French were also helping America win their freedom, and it was actually a member of the French Army who asked to have this painting of George Washington made. For our final activity, please write down what you would change about this image in order to show George Washington looking and acting like a president. Example, instead of having him standing holding his hat, I would have him sitting down at a desk writing. Please list the five things you would change in order for us to be able to think of him as president. Thank you for watching. This has been Bridging the Gap from Crystal Bridges.