Extreme Makeover: George Washington Edition

Created by a forensic anthropologist and a team of interdisciplinary experts, the forensic figures of George Washington in Mount Vernon’s new Donald W. Reynolds Education Center, strive to show the real George Washington. There are three figures of George Washington, ages 19, 45, and 57: Washington as a young surveyor, as a General in the midst of the Revolution, and, Washington as he is taking the oath of office to become the first President of the United States. And just like the real George Washington, they, too, require a little grooming (bet you weren’t expecting that!).
Last month, Steven Horak, a theatrical wig maker with the Metropolitan Opera, and Susan Day, a studio artist formerly from Madame Tussauds, came to the Education Center for the yearly maintenance of the three Georges. The heads and hands of the figures are made of beeswax and are removed from the figures, washed, and meticulously repainted. Real human hair is used for the wigs and the thousands of individual hairs which are inserted into the beeswax for hair around the face, eyebrows, eyelashes, stubble and hands. This is also a good opportunity for Diana Cordray, EC Manager, to adjust and clean the costumes. Once the figures are reassembled, visitors are none the wiser that the Georges have just had a makeover!

Photos by Cal McWhirter

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 2:56 pm and is filed under George Washington. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.