A rare piece of art from George Washington’s collection goes on the auction block in Alexandria next month.
The Potomack Company auction of the pastel portrait of St. John the Evangelist that hung in Mount Vernon starts at 10 a.m. on October 29.
Elizabeth Haynie Wainstein, owner of the Potomack Company, says the pastel is a rare piece, since George Washington didn’t speak openly about his religiosity very much, and didn’t own a lot of religious art.
“This is one of two religious paintings that hung at Mount Vernon during Washington’s lifetime,” Wainstein says. The other is a Madonna that’s still at Mount Vernon.
That said, the St. John pastel hung prominently in the “New Room,” where George and Martha Washington received guests.
Washington might have been attracted to the painting because St. John the Evangelist is the patron saint of Freemasonry, Wainstein explained; Washington was sworn into the presidency with the Bible from the Freemasons Lodge of St. John.
The painting, which is about 18 by 14 inches, was sold to a Washington descendant in 1891, and it’s been in the family ever since. It spent years back in Mount Vernon after the family loaned it.
“It is still in really good condition,” Wainstein says. “The colors are still quite strong.”
The strong colors are a sign that the painting has been well cared for, since pastels are not the most durable of media.
The bidding is likely to start at $125,000, Wainstein says. From there, the Potomack Company website estimates it’ll go for about twice that, although really it’s anybody’s guess.
“The fun thing about auction is, the market decides,” she says.
She says it’s not known how exactly Washington got the painting: There’s no record of his having bought it, so it’s possible that Martha already owned it when they got married, or perhaps it was a gift. “We just don’t know, but we do know that they owned it, and it hung in a prominent room.”
Pieces from George Washington’s collection don’t go up for auction very often, but it’s not the only one coming up for sale. The Potomack Company also has a piece of Washington’s stationery, a gold clasp with his crest on it (although Wainstein’s not sure Washington owned that one).
If you’re feeling wealthy, you can bid online.
Feature image of Mount Vernon by Orhan Çam/stock.adobe.com
For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine’s News newsletter.
