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Portrait of Martha Washington by Gilbert Stuart

About the painting: Portrait of Martha Washington by Gilbert Stuart.

Gilbert Stuart, the painter, did not like Washington. Although Washington’s clumsy and ill-fitting dentures distorted his lips and contributed to his odd expressions in various portraits, Stuart accentuated this distortion. In the Peale portrait of 1776, Stuart also included a long scar along Washington’s left cheek from an abscessed tooth, something that need not have been included.

George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis in 1759. At the time, he was 26, and she was a 28-year-old widow. She brought four children from her previous eight-year marriage into her new relationship. However, Martha never became pregnant during her 40-year marriage to Washington. Since Martha had previously had four children, it seems likely that the fertility problem was not her, but in her husband. Washington, however, who was extremely physically fit, could not admit to himself that he was sterile. He believed that it was Martha’s fault that they did not have an heir, and that when she died and he remarried a “girl,” he may become a father.

Sadly, the Custis children did not have long life spans (table below), and Washington may have been lucky to not contribute another child to statistics. The United States may also have been lucky. The lack of a Washington heir made it difficult to appoint Washington as King, although some people favored this at the time. This lack of an heir made it difficult even to consider offering Washington a Kingship.

Custis children:

Name
Birth date
Death date
Age

Daniel

Nov. 19, 1751

Feb. 19, 1754

2

Frances

April 12, 1753

April 1, 1757

3

John (Jack)

November 1754

Nov. 5, 1781

27

Martha (Patsy)

December 1755

June 19, 1773

17

 

There has been speculation that Washington had Klinefelter syndrome (associated with XXY chromosomes) or other syndromes associated with XYY chromosomes – instead of the normal XY pair in a male. His height, sterility, large hands, pockmarks, dental problems, and certain personality traits all lead to this suggestion, although geneticists have said the evidence is not conclusive.


Doctor Zebra.
"President George Washington: Medical History," available from
http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g01.htm;
Internet; accessed 4 February 2005.

White House.
"Art for the President's House: An Historical Perspective," available from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/art/presart-1.html#5;
Internet; accessed 4 February 2005.

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