NEW YORK.- More than four dozen works in all media depicting George Washington, the Revolutionary War hero who became the first president of the United States, will be presented at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in George Washington: Man, Myth, Monument—Images from the Metropolitan. The exhibition is drawn entirely from the extensive holdings of the Museum's American Wing and includes paintings, sculpture, drawings, and prints, as well as works in glass, ceramics, silver, textiles, and wood that were created in the late 18th and the 19th century.

Depictions of George Washington changed over time to suit the changing needs of the American public. The exhibition features works created during his lifetime, such as a painting by John Trumbull that shows Washington as a general in the Revolutionary War (1780) and Giuseppe Ceracchi's marble bust (1795), which pays homage to Washington during his presidential term. In the 19th century, Washington's image was adapted to many patriotic and sentimental purposes, as seen in various printed textiles and in Karl Muller's Centennial Vase (1877), in which Washington's profile in relief is part of a vocabulary of elements celebrating the country's past.

George Washington: Man, Myth, Monument was organized to complement the exhibition Gilbert Stuart, which will be on view at the Metropolitan October 21, 2004 - January 16, 2005, and will feature a section devoted to the artist's celebrated portraits of Washington. The exhibition was organized by Carrie Rebora Barratt, Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture and Manager of the Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art, with the assistance of Lois Stainman. Exhibition design is by Daniel Kershaw, Exhibition Designer; graphics are by Emil Micha, Senior Graphic Design Manager; and lighting is by Clint Ross Coller and Rich Lichte, Lighting Designers.