Starred ReviewStarred Review The Many Faces of George Washington
Remaking a Presidential Icon
“No picture accurately resembled him in the minute traits of his person . . . there was an expression of his face that no painter had succeeded in taking.”—London’s New Monthly Magazine in 1790
George Washington’s face has been painted, printed, and engraved more than a billion times since his birth in 1732. And yet even in his lifetime, no picture seemed to capture the likeness of the man who is now the most iconic of all our presidents. Worse still, people today often see this founding father as the “old and grumpy” Washington on the dollar bill.
In 2005 a team of historians, scientists, and artisans at Mount Vernon set out to change the image of our first president. They studied paintings and sculptures, pored over Washington’s letters to his tailors and noted other people’s comments about his appearance, even closely examined the many sets of dentures that had been created for Washington. Researchers tapped into skills as diverse as 18th-century leatherworking and cutting-edge computer programming to assemble truer likenesses. Their painstaking research and exacting processes helped create three full-body representations of Washington as he was at key moments in his life. And all along the way, the team gained new insight into a man who was anything but “old and grumpy.” Join award-winning author Carla Killough McClafferty as she unveils the statues of the three Georges and rediscovers the man who became the face of a new nation.
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978-1-4677-6986-0
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$25.99 |
Awards
- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon
- Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Choices
- Cybils Finalist
- Notable AwardNotable Award Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon
- SSLI Book Award Honor Book
- Notable AwardNotable Award School Library Journal Best Book
Reviews
Starred ReviewStarred Review The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“The problem: people who see George Washington’s inaccurate image on their currency perceive him as stuffy and boring. The mission: remedy this misconception with three accurate, life-size models of G.W. as a nineteen-year-old surveyor, a forty-five-year-old general, and a fifty-seven-year-old president. The obstacle: The Mount Vernon estate is bound by law to prohibit anyone from disturbing G.W.‘s remains, even for scientific study. Fortunately, eighteenth-century sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon left today’s creative team a critical legacy from which to start—a clay bust, a life mask, and a life-sized marble statue that were highly regarded by contemporaries for their accuracy. With the aid of digital scanners and computer imaging, Houdon’s artifacts could be safely examined and their meticulous measurements translated to capture G.W. at age fifty-three, from which point scientists and artists could adjust his age forward and backward. McClafferty alternates historical and technical chapters to first set the scene for each pivotal moment in G.W.‘s career and to establish his probable frame of mind; then to describe how artists, costumers, wigmakers, and even taxidermists join efforts to make a wax figure that conveys a vital man rather than a revered icon. Readers will delight in juggling the myriad considerations that go into making the models—from the graphite stains on the young surveyor’s hand, to the graying hairs and thinning eyebrows of middle age, to the jawline shortened over time by tooth loss. This title employs the story-behind-the-story approach that made Sally Walker’s Secrets of a Civil War Submarine (BCCB 6/05) such a delight, and many readers inclined to give history books a cool reception will find themselves drawn by the creative process in operation here. Color photographs document the model making, and a timeline of Washington’s life, a thematic bibliography, a list for further reading, and an index are included.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Booklist
“Presenting biographical information as well as exploring Washington’s visual representation, this handsome book finds a unique slant on the first president.” —Booklist
Starred ReviewStarred Review School Library Journal
“The full-color images are excellent throughout and are astounding when showing the wax reconstructions…. A stellar addition to most libraries.” —School Library Journal
Kirkus Reviews
“Enthusiastic prose and informative photographs convey in considerable detail the work on this project by a variety of experts, including sculptors, archaeologists, historians, dentists, painters, taxidermists and more.” —Kirkus Reviews