Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Washington the President-Mason
ca. 1931
Hattie Elizabeth Burdette (1872-1955)
USA: Washington, D.C.
Wooden frame, ink on paper
frame: 10-3/4"h x 8-3/8"w x 3/4"d
Loaned by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts
GL2004.6169

Print of the painting of George Washington as a Mason by Hattie E. Burdette. Shows George Washington in a lodge. In his right hand is a gavel, his feet form a perpendicular angle; he wears the jewel of a Masonic Past Master, and the Watson-Casoul apron; lower right corner reads "[copyright symbol] Sol Bloom / George Washington Bicentennial Celebration." Framed in a wooden frame with gold-tone molding. A printed label on the back explains what the image is and who made the original.

The United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission arranged for artist Hattie E. Burdette (1872-1955) to create this portrait of Washington as part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of his birth (1732). Burdette portrayed Washington as the presiding officer, or Worshipful Master, of the Masonic lodge in Alexandria, Virginia, holding a gavel and standing in front of the Master’s chair. Washington held this position at the lodge while he was President of the United States. The Bicentennial Commission ordered several thousand photolithographs of Burdette’s image in different sizes. The manufacturer covered some of the prints with a coating that made the surface look like hand-applied oil paint. Representatives from every state distributed the photolithographs to Masonic organizations throughout the country. For further information, see Newell, Aimee, et.al., "Curiosities of the Craft: Treasures from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Collection", 2013, p. 272-273.