Name: Franklin Kelly
Occupation: Deputy Director and Chief Curator, National Gallery of Art
Residence: Dupont Circle area
Why I love this piece: I love the way it’s painted. Stuart is incredibly good at getting a sense of likeness and vitality, but then also doing these flourishes of paint that are, in themselves, beautiful. She’s wearing an elaborate headdress, and at the back of that, there’s a kind of highlight of light on the fabric; almost a U-shape. It’s just a simple stroke of paint, laying there on the surface, but incredibly sure and almost poetic. It’s so beautiful. The same thing is true with that wonderful gesture of her little finger pulling that thread she’s holding. It’s a perfect little touch.
The painting is meant to be an image of a real woman, of course. And how Stuart chose to depict her may have been his decision, or hers — most likely it was both of theirs. She’s shown doing something very simple, in beautiful costume, but then he adds those painterly flourishes that are so appealing to modern eyes, and obviously were appealing to his contemporaries, too. People sometimes ask me, “Who would you like to have paint your portrait? [John Singer] Sargent?” And I say, “Well, Sargent would be nice, but Gilbert Stuart would be nice, too!” I just love how beautifully he handles paint.
If you go
Where: National Gallery of Art, Constitution Avenue between 3rd and 7th Streets NW
Info: Free; 202-737-4215; nga.gov
