William Bainbridge became a national hero after USS Constitution, under his command, defeated the British frigate HMS Java in December 1812. This portrait, painted by famed artist Gilbert Stuart, has a funny story. Bainbridge sat for Stuart in the artist’s Boston studio, but the two did not get along. Stuart refused to finish the portrait. Ultimately, though, Bainbridge acquired his portrait, had it altered and finished, and it descended through his family.
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