Portrait of Hugh Percy, Second Duke of Northumberland by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1788

Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is the unfinished portrait of George Washington that is sometimes referred to as The Athenaeum, begun in 1796. Stuart retained the portrait and used it to paint 130 copies which he sold for $100 each. The image of George Washington featured in the painting has appeared on the United States one-dollar bill for more than a century and on various U.S. postage stamps of the 19th century and early 20th century.