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Monday, 09 February 2015 12:31

The Louvre Abu Dhabi Acquires a Portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart

A rendering of the new Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi. A rendering of the new Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi. Flickr

Museum-goers are anticipating this fall’s debut of the Louvre Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, part of a long-term cultural agreement with the French government. One recent acquisition may surprise visitors: Museum officials in Abu Dhabi say they have paid Los Angeles’s Armand Hammer Foundation an undisclosed sum for a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington.

The 1822 painting shows the first American president sitting at a desk, one hand resting on a document, the other cradling a sword hilt. Other Washington portraits by Stuart have sold for around $8 million, according to dealers and auction records.

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