Gilbert Stuart learned his art in London, and before returning to the U.S. to paint his famed portraits of Washington* he did brilliant work there. Last week one of his best British portraits, never before seen in the U.S., went on exhibition in Washington's National Gallery. Entitled The Skater, it portrayed an elegant gentleman named William Grant taking a whirl on the ice in St. James's. Park. The picture showed that Stuart quickly learned the knack of making his subjects look noble and lifelike at the same time.
Stuart neglected to sign The Skater, and Englishmen came to assume that one of...
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