George Washington portrait to be auctioned

updated 6:20 p.m. ET May 14, 2004

NEW YORK - A Charles Willson Peale portrait of George Washington is expected to fetch between $2.5 million and $4 million at an auction next week.

The portrait shows Washington as commander of the Continental Army after the Yorktown campaign that led to the British surrender in the Revolutionary War. It was once owned by the Chevalier Francois-Jean de Chastellux, a French general who served in the Continental Army.

The painting “George Washington” was said to be presented to the Chastellux family in 1782 by Washington himself, according to Christie’s auction house.

Peale is believed to have begun the portrait in 1780, first painting Washington with an alternate background. Peale later repainted it with the Yorktown background after the 1781 battle.

The painting will be auctioned at Christie’s next Tuesday, along with a watercolor of the city of Boston by Maurice Prendergast and paintings by Winslow Homer, Alfred Jacob Miller and William Glackens.

MORE FROM THE ARTS

Ansel Adams ‘Moonrise’ print sells for $360K

Ansel Adams ‘Moonrise’ print sells for $360K Painter Richard Wright wins Turner Prize Springsteen, De Niro among Kennedy honorees Italy seizes secret stash of masterpieces 3 generations of Wyeths to be sold in NYC Charis Wilson, photographer’s muse, dies at 95 ‘The Gates’ co-artist Jeanne-Claude dies   Add The Arts headlines to your news reader: