1940 Famous Americans: 1c Gilbert Charles Stuart

# 884 - 1940 Famous Americans: 1c Gilbert Charles Stuart

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U.S. #884
1940 1¢ Gilbert Stuart
Famous Americans Series – Artists

Issue Date: September 5, 1940
First City: Narragansett, Rhode Island
Quantity Issued: 54,389,510
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Rotary Press
Perforation: 10 ½ x 11
Color: Bright blue green
 

Birth Of Artist Gilbert Stuart 

U.S. #884 from the Famous Americans series.

On December 3, 1755, Gilbert Stuart was born in Saunderstown, Rhode Island Colony.

Stuart was the third child of Gilbert Stuart, who worked in America’s first colonial snuff mill.  When he was six, Stuart’s family moved to Newport, Rhode Island.  It was there that he first began to show an interest and talent for painting.  In 1770, Stuart met Scottish artist Cosmo Alexander, who served as his first art tutor.   The following year Stuart traveled to Scotland with Alexander but returned to America in 1773 following his tutor’s death.

U.S. #1046 – Painted by Stuart in 1794.

Stuart didn’t remain in America for long. After the Revolutionary War started, he departed for Europe to study, as John Singleton Copley had done before him.  While he struggled at first, Stuart eventually met artist Benjamin West, under whom he studied for the next six years.  He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1777 and found his first real success with The Skater in 1782, his first full-length portrait.  Stuart recalled that he was “suddenly lifted into fame by a single picture.”

U.S. #707 pictures The Athenaeum.

In all, Stuart spent about 18 years in Britain and Ireland, earning some of the highest commissions of the day.  He finally returned to America in 1793, first living in New York City before settling in Germantown, Pennsylvania, two years later.  There, he established a studio and was soon hired to paint some of the most famous and significant Americans of the day.

U.S. #715 pictures a Stuart painting from 1795 called the Gibbs-Channing-Avery portrait.

 One of Stuart’s goals in moving to Germantown (near then-US capital Philadelphia) was getting to paint President George Washington.  He succeeded and had the first of several sittings with the president in March of 1795.  From these sittings, Stuart produced some of his most famous paintings, notably The Athenaeum, which was later used for the $1 bill and several US stamps.  During his lifetime, Stuart and his daughters painted 130 reproductions of The Athenaeum, but he never finished the original.  Another famous Washington painting is the Lansdowne portrait, which was famously saved by Dolley Madison during the War of 1812.

U.S. #1033 – Stuart painted this portrait around 1805.

After opening a studio in Washington DC, Stuart moved to Boston in 1805.  There he exhibited his works and continued to paint.  Many other artists also sought him out for advice, including John Trumbull, Thomas Sully, and John Vanderlyn.

Over the course of his career, Stuart painted more than 1,000 people, including the first six presidents.  He was in high demand, not only for his painting talent but for his demeanor during sittings.  As John Adams later described, “Speaking generally, no penance is like having one’s picture done.  You must sit in a constrained and unnatural position, which is a trial to the temper.  But I should like to sit to Stuart from the first of January to the last of December, for he lets me do just what I please, and keeps me constantly amused by his conversation.”

U.S. #1048 – Painted by Stuart in 1813.

Stuart suffered a stroke in 1824 that left him partially paralyzed.  In spite of this, he continued to paint for the next two years until his death on July 9, 1828.  Unfortunately, Stuart was never good with money and when he died was in deep debt.  His family was unable to purchase him a gravesite, so he was buried in an unmarked grave in the Old South Burial Ground of Boston Common.  A decade later his family recovered from their debt and wanted to move his body to their family plot, but couldn’t remember exactly where he was buried, so he was never moved.

Over the years, Stuart’s paintings have served as the models for a number of US stamps, including these:

U.S. #301

 

 

U.S. #319

 

 

U.S. #720

 

 

U.S. #1054

 

 

U.S. #1105

 

 

U.S. #2592

 

 

U.S. #262

 

 

U.S. #4504

 

 

 

Click here to see more Stuart paintings.

 
Famous Americans
In 1938, the Post Office Department announced plans for a series of stamps recognizing 10 famous Americans and invited the public to submit recommendations. The response was so great that it was decided to increase the number from 10 to 35. This required an unexpected level of organization by the Post Office Department for this series.
 
Seven categories were decided upon – authors, poets, educators, scientists, composers, artists, and inventors. Each category of five has the same set of denominations – 1¢, 2¢, 3¢, 5¢, and 10¢. Each rate had a valid use. The 1¢ stamp paid for a letter that was dropped off at a post office to someone who had a box at the same office. The 2¢ was for local delivery. The 3¢ paid the normal non-local mail rate, and the 5¢ and 10¢ were used in combination for heavier letters and special rates. The denominations also shared a consistent coloring scheme: 1¢ is bright blue green; 2¢ is rose carmine; 3¢ is bright red violet; 5¢ is ultramarine; and 10¢ is dark brown.
 
Each category has its subjects arranged with the oldest birth date going on the 1¢ stamp, down to the most recent birth date on the 10¢ stamp. Each category has its own dedicated symbol in the engraving – a scroll, quill pen and inkwell for authors; a winged horse (Pegasus) for poets; the “Lamp of Knowledge” for educators; laurel leaves and the pipes of the Roman god Pan for composers; and inventors had a cogwheel with uplifted wings and a lightning flash to symbolize power, flight, and electricity. 
 
The artists and the scientists have multiple symbols. Artists have either a paint palette and brush (for painters), and the sculptors have a stonecutting hammer and chisel. Scientists had the classical symbol of their particular profession.
 

 

 

Read More - Click Here

 

U.S. #884
1940 1¢ Gilbert Stuart
Famous Americans Series – Artists

Issue Date: September 5, 1940
First City: Narragansett, Rhode Island
Quantity Issued: 54,389,510
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Rotary Press
Perforation: 10 ½ x 11
Color: Bright blue green
 

Birth Of Artist Gilbert Stuart 

U.S. #884 from the Famous Americans series.

On December 3, 1755, Gilbert Stuart was born in Saunderstown, Rhode Island Colony.

Stuart was the third child of Gilbert Stuart, who worked in America’s first colonial snuff mill.  When he was six, Stuart’s family moved to Newport, Rhode Island.  It was there that he first began to show an interest and talent for painting.  In 1770, Stuart met Scottish artist Cosmo Alexander, who served as his first art tutor.   The following year Stuart traveled to Scotland with Alexander but returned to America in 1773 following his tutor’s death.

U.S. #1046 – Painted by Stuart in 1794.

Stuart didn’t remain in America for long. After the Revolutionary War started, he departed for Europe to study, as John Singleton Copley had done before him.  While he struggled at first, Stuart eventually met artist Benjamin West, under whom he studied for the next six years.  He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1777 and found his first real success with The Skater in 1782, his first full-length portrait.  Stuart recalled that he was “suddenly lifted into fame by a single picture.”

U.S. #707 pictures The Athenaeum.

In all, Stuart spent about 18 years in Britain and Ireland, earning some of the highest commissions of the day.  He finally returned to America in 1793, first living in New York City before settling in Germantown, Pennsylvania, two years later.  There, he established a studio and was soon hired to paint some of the most famous and significant Americans of the day.

U.S. #715 pictures a Stuart painting from 1795 called the Gibbs-Channing-Avery portrait.

 One of Stuart’s goals in moving to Germantown (near then-US capital Philadelphia) was getting to paint President George Washington.  He succeeded and had the first of several sittings with the president in March of 1795.  From these sittings, Stuart produced some of his most famous paintings, notably The Athenaeum, which was later used for the $1 bill and several US stamps.  During his lifetime, Stuart and his daughters painted 130 reproductions of The Athenaeum, but he never finished the original.  Another famous Washington painting is the Lansdowne portrait, which was famously saved by Dolley Madison during the War of 1812.

U.S. #1033 – Stuart painted this portrait around 1805.

After opening a studio in Washington DC, Stuart moved to Boston in 1805.  There he exhibited his works and continued to paint.  Many other artists also sought him out for advice, including John Trumbull, Thomas Sully, and John Vanderlyn.

Over the course of his career, Stuart painted more than 1,000 people, including the first six presidents.  He was in high demand, not only for his painting talent but for his demeanor during sittings.  As John Adams later described, “Speaking generally, no penance is like having one’s picture done.  You must sit in a constrained and unnatural position, which is a trial to the temper.  But I should like to sit to Stuart from the first of January to the last of December, for he lets me do just what I please, and keeps me constantly amused by his conversation.”

U.S. #1048 – Painted by Stuart in 1813.

Stuart suffered a stroke in 1824 that left him partially paralyzed.  In spite of this, he continued to paint for the next two years until his death on July 9, 1828.  Unfortunately, Stuart was never good with money and when he died was in deep debt.  His family was unable to purchase him a gravesite, so he was buried in an unmarked grave in the Old South Burial Ground of Boston Common.  A decade later his family recovered from their debt and wanted to move his body to their family plot, but couldn’t remember exactly where he was buried, so he was never moved.

Over the years, Stuart’s paintings have served as the models for a number of US stamps, including these:

U.S. #301

 

 

U.S. #319

 

 

U.S. #720

 

 

U.S. #1054

 

 

U.S. #1105

 

 

U.S. #2592

 

 

U.S. #262

 

 

U.S. #4504

 

 

 

Click here to see more Stuart paintings.

 
Famous Americans
In 1938, the Post Office Department announced plans for a series of stamps recognizing 10 famous Americans and invited the public to submit recommendations. The response was so great that it was decided to increase the number from 10 to 35. This required an unexpected level of organization by the Post Office Department for this series.
 
Seven categories were decided upon – authors, poets, educators, scientists, composers, artists, and inventors. Each category of five has the same set of denominations – 1¢, 2¢, 3¢, 5¢, and 10¢. Each rate had a valid use. The 1¢ stamp paid for a letter that was dropped off at a post office to someone who had a box at the same office. The 2¢ was for local delivery. The 3¢ paid the normal non-local mail rate, and the 5¢ and 10¢ were used in combination for heavier letters and special rates. The denominations also shared a consistent coloring scheme: 1¢ is bright blue green; 2¢ is rose carmine; 3¢ is bright red violet; 5¢ is ultramarine; and 10¢ is dark brown.
 
Each category has its subjects arranged with the oldest birth date going on the 1¢ stamp, down to the most recent birth date on the 10¢ stamp. Each category has its own dedicated symbol in the engraving – a scroll, quill pen and inkwell for authors; a winged horse (Pegasus) for poets; the “Lamp of Knowledge” for educators; laurel leaves and the pipes of the Roman god Pan for composers; and inventors had a cogwheel with uplifted wings and a lightning flash to symbolize power, flight, and electricity. 
 
The artists and the scientists have multiple symbols. Artists have either a paint palette and brush (for painters), and the sculptors have a stonecutting hammer and chisel. Scientists had the classical symbol of their particular profession.