Stuart, Gilbert. Unfinished Portraits of George Washington and Martha Washington (Martha Dandridge Custis).

Commissioned by Martha Washington, the image of George Washington is one of some 100 painted by the artist and is said to be the most reproduced image in history – since it appears on the $1 bill. The paintings are acquired by the Boston Athenaeum in 1831, and lent to the Museum of Fine Arts in 1876. In order to raise funds, the Athenaeum makes the controversial decision to sell the two paintings in 1979. Responding to protests against the works being lost to Boston, a compromises is devised whereby the paintings are sold jointly to the MFA and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington – to be displayed together in alternating three-year cycles at each location – beginning in 1980.