An American Icon Staying Home

An iconic life-size portrait of George Washington that was set to go on the auction block has been purchased by a Las Vegas philanthropic foundation that will display the painting on a nationwide tour before returning it to the Smithsonian Institution for permanent display.

The Gilbert Stuart portrait of the nation’s first president graced the entrance to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery for more than 30 years before its British owner recently decided to put it up for sale.

On Tuesday, museum officials announced that the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, which has given money to universities and programs across the country, had donated $20 million to buy the painting. The foundation is kicking in an additional $10 million--$6 million to support the nationwide tour and $4 million to fund a special display for the portrait at the gallery, which is undergoing renovation.

The donation came as a relief to Smithsonian officials, who had announced that the portrait’s owner, Lord Dalmeny of London, had given the gallery until April 1 to come up with $20 million to purchase the painting. Dalmeny said he had intended to put the portrait up for auction if the money was not found.

“George Washington still has a home at the Smithsonian Institution,” said Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small. “Now the father of our country will stay in this country forever.”

The foundation has an endowment of nearly $1.3 billion from the estate of Donald W. Reynolds, who owned and published newspapers throughout Nevada, Oklahoma and Arkansas until his death in 1993. The foundation has previously awarded grants to causes ranging from upgrading journalism school facilities to furthering cardiovascular clinical research. The painting’s new display space will be dedicated to Reynolds.

“This is an unusual grant for us,” Foundation President Steven L. Anderson said. “The idea that it would be available for schoolchildren across the country to see--that struck our patriotic core.”

The portrait, painted in 1796 and known as the Lansdowne portrait in honor of the first owner, is one of the most reproduced pictures of Washington, gracing the covers of textbooks nationwide. The portrait was originally given as a gift of gratitude to an Englishman who supported America during the Revolutionary War.

The portrait had been on loan from a family of British aristocrats since the opening of the portrait gallery in 1968. Lord Dalmeny, a 33-year-old descendant of the original owners, informed Smithsonian officials in November of his plans to sell the work, but he gave the Smithsonian exclusivity until April 1, saying he ultimately wanted to see the painting remain on public display in America.

“The portrait had been here for Lord Dalmeny’s entire life,” said David Redden, vice chairman for Sotheby’s in New York. “[Dalmeny] wanted it more than anything to stay in the Smithsonian.”

Sotheby’s was slated to handle the auction for Dalmeny, who works for the firm as a deputy director in London.

Although Dalmeny put a $20-million price tag on the painting, museum officials and experts acknowledge it could have sold for considerably more at auction.

“It could go for $20 [million] to $30 million,” Redden said. “But given that it’s an icon, it could bring in considerably more.”

Facing the April deadline, gallery director Marc Pachter began scanning the country several weeks ago in search of a single donor. The museum had been receiving small individual donations from visitors across the country who had heard about the possible loss of the painting. That money, totaling $700, will go toward educational programs associated with the painting.

Pachter said the Reynolds Foundation was the first to “step up to the plate,” but if the deal had fallen through, there was another “absolute” backup offer. He declined to identify that potential donor.

A grass-roots effort was also started by Vietnamese Americans in Washington, who were seeking to raise the money from other Vietnamese Americans from across the country. Pachter said their idea was to return the painting to the United States as a gift of gratitude from Vietnamese Americans.

The portrait will remain in the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History until the nationwide tour begins in the next few months. The locations and details of the tour have not been decided.

Although the Smithsonian will have authority in deciding where the tour will stop, foundation officials will have a say in deciding which cities and towns are included.

“It would be a desire of ours for the tour to travel to towns in Nevada and Oklahoma,” where Reynolds owned newspapers, Anderson said. “We want as many people to see it as possible--especially people who wouldn’t usually have the chance to travel to Washington.”

The portrait will head back to Washington permanently upon completion of the gallery’s renovation in 2004.