Christie’s is launching its largest-ever Americana Week in January, featuring a George Washington portrait by Gilbert Stuart that inspired the dollar bill. The painting, commissioned by James Madison, is expected to fetch between $500,000 and $1 million. The auction includes 700 lots across nine sales, with highlights such as a signed Emancipation Proclamation and the contract that created Apple. The portrait, a Vaughn-type from 1795, was consigned by Clarkson University and has a provenance tracing back to Madison, confirmed by a 19th-century catalog and a note from Madison’s secretary.
The sale matters because it underscores the enduring market for early American historical artifacts and the specific appeal of Stuart’s Washington portraits, which are rare and often contested in attribution. The painting’s documented Madison commission and its link to the iconic dollar-bill image add layers of historical and monetary value. If it surpasses the $1.06 million record for an Athenaeum-type portrait set in 2015, it could signal renewed collector interest in Americana ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.