what if George Washington weren’t a false-teeth-wearing, presidential icon but rather an amiable bro who kept his sunglasses in the pocket of his vest? It’s a question you likely have not asked yourself before—but inside one Washington, D.C., restaurant, it’s one that’s answered nonetheless. Washingtonian’s Jessica Sidman reports that you can now spy a unique interpretation of the first POTUS in a newly commissioned portrait that portrays Washington as a modern-day hipster.
The restaurant is called Farmers & Distillers, and it opened last month. Inside, it’s got a portrait of Washington that’s nothing like the one you likely associate with the statesman who first led his fellow colonists to victory against the British, then led them as the new nation’s first president. The Washington of the new portrait isn’t astride a horse, on his way across the Delaware or on a one-dollar bill. Rather, he’s portrayed as a scenester complete with Wayfarers, vest, bracelet, bun and glass of craft whiskey.
As Sidman reports, the portrait was commissioned by Dan Simons, who co-owns Farmers & Distillers. Painter Nathan Loda, who created the piece, tells Smithsonian.com that he was surprised and challenged by the premise of the painting the restaurant ordered. “It’s something different,” he says on the phone, “a new icon.”
Loda immediately knew he’d have to reference the most famous portrait of Washington: The Athenaeum, Gilbert Stuart’s unfinished portrait of the president that later served as the model for the one-dollar bill.