Gilbert Stuart was the son of a snuffmaker and spent his earliest youth in rural Rhode Island. In 1761, however, his family moved to the thriving shipping center of Newport. There, at the Trinity Parish School, Stuart began his education and soon demonstrated his ability at copying engravings and sketching portraits. These talents were encouraged and when Cosimo Alexander, an itinerant Scottish portraitist, visited Newport in 1769, he agreed to give Stuart formal lessons. Stuart subseequently accompanied Alexander on his travels through the eastern United States and in late 1770 or early 1771 the two embarked for Scotland. Stuart continued his studies in Edinburgh until Alexander's sudden death in the summer of 1772. After a brief and unsuccessful attempt to support himself as a portraitist Stuart returned to Newport.
In the following years Stuart worked in Newport and Boston and began to receive commissions for his portraits. Like many of his contemporaries, however, Stuart continued to feel the need to pursue his studies in Europe, and when the American Revolution broke out in 1775 he departed for London. Stuart's career in London was initially unsuccessful and despite his skill he could not compete with the many formally trained artists in the city. In 1777, when his finances were desperate, he wrote Benjamin West (q.v.) and asked for assistance. West, unfailingly benevolent to young American artists, took Stuart on first as a copyist and then as a student. Under West's guidance, Stuart became acquainted with the formal training of the Royal Academy. In the following years his portraits were frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy and he received increasing patronage. By 1785 his reputation was well established in London and he moved to luxurious accomodations on New Burlington Street. In the following year he married Charlotte Coates, the daughter of a physician.
Although Stuart's success brought financial reward, it could not compete with the expenses of his lifestyle. In 1787 debt forced him to leave London. He settled in Dublin, but within five years he was again forced to move. In 1793 he returned to America, and, though he initially settled in New York, he moved to Philadelphia within a year. There, along with many other commissions, Stuart executed his first portrait of George Washington (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC). In 1803 he moved to Washington and commenced portraits of the leading statesmen of his day. In the summer of 1805 he moved to Boston whre he lived for his remaining life. Stuart's reputation as America's leading portraitist remained unchallenged throughout these years and his ability to capture his sitters' character was emmulated by both his contemporaries and his followers.
