Gilbert Stuart’s idealized portrayal of Major-General Henry Dearborn presents an aging, yet robust military leader invigorated by power and the challenge of the War of 1812. A Revolutionary War hero who served as secretary of war during Thomas Jefferson’s two presidential terms (1801–09), Dearborn continued his service as senior major-general in the 1812 campaign. This work is one of several likenesses Stuart executed of American
military and political men, among them his well-known depictions of George Washington. Stuart painted directly on the panel or canvas over the course of several sittings, capturing the new country’s fervent nationalism in skillful, vigorous portraits.