What would George Washington look like if he lived today? | Royalty Now

What did America’s first President really look like? I think it’s a question we all THINK we know the answer to, but when looking at portraits of Washington, despite all having the curled 18th century ponytail, grim expression and possibly tricorn hat, they actually all look quite different.

Surprisingly, very few were created from life. Washington apparently hated sitting for portraits, thinking they were a waste of his time. He resolved only to sit for portraits meant for public bodies or for a particular purpose (that was not the painter’s). For this reason, many images we see of him today are copies.

Luckily, in 1785,when Washington was 53, French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon visited him at his Mount Vernon residence. His mission was to take a life mask - a plaster cast of Washington’s face - which he would then use to create sculpture copies. The mask was used to sculpt what’s known as “Washington’s Official Likeness” - this lifesize sculpture located in the Virginia state Capitol.

Based on physical descriptions from his lifetime, it’s no doubt that Washington became someone of prominence. Standing over six feet tall, he would have towered over his contemporaries. He was described as having strong facial features. A strong brow over his blue eyes, a firmly set jaw, and a somewhat large Roman nose. He always appeared elegant and dignified, sometimes appearing to be deep in thought. But his charm was immense, “His smile was extraordinarily attractive.” wrote an anonymous source. A writer in 1790 stated that it was not necessary to announce his name when he walked in a room - his appearance was so specific that everyone knew immediately who he was.

There are a few long standing myths about Washington’s appearance. The first is that he had wooden dentures - a myth that originated in the 1800s, possibly because Ivory dentures became easily stained. Washington’s fondness for drinking Port Wine was rumored to be a constant annoyance for his dentist who had to clean them.

Another misconception is that Washington always had white hair or wore wigs. Washington actually never wore wigs, preferring his natural hair styled in the fashion of the time, and sometimes powdered to appear white. In portraits of a younger Washington, his hair is a reddish brown. We actually have surviving locks of George Washington’s hair, which interestingly sell at auction for almost $25,000.

So I’ve used a bust of Washington created by Houdon as the basis for my re-creations.

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