Never a household name, Trousset nevertheless carved out a successful career as an itinerant painter in the late 19th century, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Jules Tavernier, founder of the Bohemian Club. Trousset moved often, painting views of California, Mexico, and Texas. His works are kept in several collections today, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “Trousset’s style is his personal mixture of naïve and romantic,” wrote art historian Frederick Kluck.

The artist’s identity wasn’t the only interesting thing Sachs learned. Representatives at the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Virginia explained that very few original images of Washington in Masonic regalia exist, and urged him to have the painting professionally restored.

As ubiquitous as Washington’s image is today, they explained, few paintings of him were made during his lifetime. Most pictures of Washington are facsimiles of Gilbert Stuart’s famous Landsdowne portrait, the basis for his image on the dollar bill. That rendering was subsequently engraved, copied, and distributed hundreds of times. Sometimes it was embellished, as on the 19th-century engraving by A.B. Walter entitled Washington as a Mason, which gave him a Masonic collar, jewel, and apron.

Curiously, the San Luis Obispo painting appeared not to draw from any single direct source. And what of the apron? Moore speculated that its design might have local roots—perhaps it was modeled by an original member of the lodge. “If that could be determined, then this painting would carry yet another level of meaning,” Moore wrote.

Meanwhile, other lodge members pitched in. Past master Dave Chesebro was able to connect with descendents of Trousset’s, while another lodge member recalled finding a contract for the painting for $178, an extraordinary amount at the time. The bill was signed by Walter Murray, the first master of the lodge, whose brother Alexander owned a locally famous tavern.