In 1785, the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon was commissioned by the Virginia General Assembly to sculpt a bust of Washington, who had led the nascent United States to victory in the American Revolutionary War.
 Houdon had been recommended by the recently returned United States Minister to France, Benjamin Franklin.
 The retired general sat for Houdon at Mount Vernon, the Washington family home in Fairfax County, Virginia between October 6 and 12, 1785.
 The sculptor took a life mask of the general's face—Washington's adopted granddaughter Nelly Custis, aged six at the time, later recalled her shock in seeing Washington lying on a table, as she thought dead, covered by a sheet and by the plaster for the mask.
 She was told that two quills extended into his nostrils, providing him with air.
 A bust at Mount Vernon today testifies to that visit.
 On his return to Paris, Houdon used his visage of General Washington in a number of sculptural settings, including the commissioned statue for the General Assembly, which still stands in marble in the Virginia State Capitol.

Portraits of Washington on medals and in other media subsequent to the sculptor's visit were most often based on Houdon's work, beginning with the 1786 "Washington Before Boston" medal engraved by Pierre Simon DuViviers.
 Although only one American, Abraham Lincoln, had appeared on a circulating US coin by the 1920s, the Houdon bust had been used as the basis of the portrait of Washington on the commemorative Lafayette dollar dated 1900 and on the Sesquicentennial half dollar of 1926.
According to coin dealer and numismatic historian Q. David Bowers, the Houdon bust, even then, was the most common representation of Washington on coins and medals.
 Little is known of Flanagan's creative process, although models of Flanagan's quarter with a different portrayal of Washington, facing right, and with a different eagle, have come on the market.
 Flanagan's adaptation differs from the Houdon bust in some particulars: for example, the shape of the head is different, and there is a roll of hair on the quarter not found on the bust.

Art historian Cornelius Vermeule said of Flanagan's quarter, "a die designer could do little wrong in having Houdon's Neoclassic image as his prototype ... Still, it might be asked whether or not it was fair to force an ideal[ized] portrait of Washington made in 1785 on an artist working in 1932.
There is something cold and lifeless about the results."
Vermeule suggests that the quarter started a trend of similar portrait coins issued by the United States, notably the Jefferson nickel and Franklin half dollar.
 The historian preferred Laura Fraser's version, and termed Flanagan's reverse "a stiff bit of heraldry amid too large a wreath and too much or too large lettering".
In 1785, the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon was commissioned by the Virginia General Assembly to sculpt a bust of Washington, who had led the nascent United States to victory in the American Revolutionary War.  Houdon had been recommended by the recently returned United States Minister to France, Benjamin Franklin.  The retired general sat for Houdon at Mount Vernon, the Washington family home in Fairfax County, Virginia between October 6 and 12, 1785.  The sculptor took a life mask of the general's face—Washington's adopted granddaughter Nelly Custis, aged six at the time, later recalled her shock in seeing Washington lying on a table, as she thought dead, covered by a sheet and by the plaster for the mask.  She was told that two quills extended into his nostrils, providing him with air.  A bust at Mount Vernon today testifies to that visit.  On his return to Paris, Houdon used his visage of General Washington in a number of sculptural settings, including the commissioned statue for the General Assembly, which still stands in marble in the Virginia State Capitol.
Portraits of Washington on medals and in other media subsequent to the sculptor's visit were most often based on Houdon's work, beginning with the 1786 "Washington Before Boston" medal engraved by Pierre Simon DuViviers.  Although only one American, Abraham Lincoln, had appeared on a circulating US coin by the 1920s, the Houdon bust had been used as the basis of the portrait of Washington on the commemorative Lafayette dollar dated 1900 and on the Sesquicentennial half dollar of 1926. According to coin dealer and numismatic historian Q. David Bowers, the Houdon bust, even then, was the most common representation of Washington on coins and medals.  Little is known of Flanagan's creative process, although models of Flanagan's quarter with a different portrayal of Washington, facing right, and with a different eagle, have come on the market.  Flanagan's adaptation differs from the Houdon bust in some particulars: for example, the shape of the head is different, and there is a roll of hair on the quarter not found on the bust.
Art historian Cornelius Vermeule said of Flanagan's quarter, "a die designer could do little wrong in having Houdon's Neoclassic image as his prototype ... Still, it might be asked whether or not it was fair to force an ideal[ized] portrait of Washington made in 1785 on an artist working in 1932. There is something cold and lifeless about the results." Vermeule suggests that the quarter started a trend of similar portrait coins issued by the United States, notably the Jefferson nickel and Franklin half dollar.  The historian preferred Laura Fraser's version, and termed Flanagan's reverse "a stiff bit of heraldry amid too large a wreath and too much or too large lettering".
Washington quarter