Porthole Portrait: Does Your School Have One?
Mount Vernon’s George Washington Portrait Project has brought Rembrandt Peale’s “Patriae Pater” porthole portrait of Washington into 4,783 schools since the program’s inception in winter 2007-2008, and your school could be next.
The project is meant to encourage remembrance of Washington’s leadership and legacy in the curricula of the nation’s kindergarten through 12th grade classrooms. The portraits are free and Mount Vernon’s education department encourages schools to hang them in a prominent place such as a central office, library, or auditorium. To learn how your school can become a part of this project, visit Mount Vernon’s portrait project page.
In the meantime, check out a few stats about where these portraits have gone. Several states are leading the pack: Florida has 411 portraits, California has 272, and Arkansas has 202. Even the Virgin Islands, Guam, Air Force Pacific, and Puerto Rico each have a school that received one. Does your school have one?
