Lot 252: Walter Robertson (Irish/American, 1750-1802),

Walter Robertson (Irish/American, 1750-1802), "George Washington", miniature watercolor, signed and dated "W. Robertson 1799" lower left, sight 5 3/4 in. x 4 3/4 in., in a gilt frame.

Note: This miniature is likely a memorial portrait, executed in the last months of 1799, when Walter Robertson had left America. Robertson painted a number of very beautiful miniatures characterized by Morgan and Fielding in their book The Life Portraits of Washington and Their Replicas as "of large size and exhibit[ing] the work of a thoroughly trained artist only equaled in color by those of Malbone." This image is apparently a free version of one of the life-size full-length portraits by Charles Willson Peale, showing the General as much younger, and in the characteristic uniform of the Continental Army. This miniature's precision and coloring are indeed remarkable, and make this wonderful image one of the most memorable of Washington's portraits.