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Silhouette of George Washington
1783-1857
Engraver not marked; G. P. Putnam and Co., publisher; Sarah De Hart (1759-1832), silhouettist
USA
Engraving on paper
engraving: 9 3/4 x 6 1/2 in.; matted: 14 x 11 in.
Gift of Dr. William L. and Mary B. Guyton Collection
82.54.22

Engraving of a profile silhouette of George Washington facing left; printed on bottom "From the Original (cut with scissors) by Miss De Hart, Elizabethtown, N. J. 1783/ Presented by Mrs. Washington to Mrs. Duer, daughter of Lord Stirling."


Silhouettes, also known as shades or profiles, were a popular and ubiquitous style of portraiture from the mid-1700s through the 1800s. They were less expensive than a painted portrait but declined in popularity with the invention of photography. This engraving of a silhouette is from Washington Irving’s work, "Life of Washington, Vol. IV," published in 1857. The engraving is based on a silhouette cut by Sarah De Hart (1759-1832) in 1783. De Hart, one of the earliest recorded American woman silhouettists, made her hollow-cut profiles without the popular physiognotrace device used to cut silhouettes in the early 1800s.