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Catalog Data

Artist:
Ole Peter Hansen Balling, 13 Apr 1823 - 1 May 1906  Search this
Sitter:
Ulysses Simpson Grant, 27 Apr 1822 - 23 Jul 1885  Search this
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
Sight: 120.3 x 94.6cm (47 3/8 x 37 1/4")
Frame (Without shield & eagle): 188 x 161.9 x 15.2cm (74 x 63 3/4 x 6")
Type:
Painting
Date:
1865
Exhibition Label:
Born Point Pleasant, Ohio
At the beginning of the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant served as a brigadier general until his victory at Fort Donelson, Tennessee, in 1862, when his terms were “unconditional surrender.” President Abraham Lincoln promoted him to lieutenant general in 1864, granting him command of all the Union armies. Grant created the Army of the Shenandoah, which protected the capital and routed the Confederates out of the Virginia valley. He also supported the service of approximately two hundred thousand Black men—close to ten percent of the Union army. Black soldiers were, he declared, “the heaviest blow yet given the Confederacy.”
Norwegian-born artist Ole Peter Hansen Balling briefly served as a Union soldier at the start of the Civil War but returned to painting after being wounded. This portrait depicts Grant in a trench during the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg; the map on the table beside him shows the area along the Mississippi River.
Nacido en Point Pleasant, Ohio
Ulysses S. Grant fue brigadier general desde principios de la Guerra Civil hasta su victoria de 1862 en el Fuerte Donelson, Tennessee, cuando exigió la “rendición incondicional”. El presidente Abraham Lincoln lo ascendió a teniente general en 1864 y le entregó el mando de todos los ejércitos de la Unión. Grant creó el Ejército del Shenandoah, que defendió la capital y expulsó a los confederados del valle de Virginia. Asimismo respaldó el servicio de unos 200,000 soldados negros, cerca del diez por ciento del ejército de la Unión. Los soldados negros, declaró, fueron “el mayor golpe asestado hasta hoy a la Confederación”.
El artista noruego Ole Peter Hansen Balling luchó con la Unión a principios de la Guerra Civil, pero volvió a la pintura luego de ser herido. Aquí muestra a Grant en una trinchera durante el asedio a Vicksburg en 1863. El mapa abierto sobre la mesa muestra el área a lo largo del río Misisipi.
Provenance:
The artist until 1875; Hermann Linde, publisher, New York. (Adams, Davidson Galleries, Washington, D.C.); purchased 1967 NPG.
Topic:
Costume\Headgear\Military  Search this
Exterior  Search this
Equipment\Smoking Implements\Cigar  Search this
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache  Search this
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard  Search this
Printed Material\Map  Search this
Costume\Dress Accessory\Epaulet  Search this
Equipment\Optical Devices\Binoculars  Search this
Tool\Shovel  Search this
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Male  Search this
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Natural Resource Occupations\Agriculturist\Farmer  Search this
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Politics and Government\Cabinet member\Secretary of War  Search this
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Civil War  Search this
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\General  Search this
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Politics and Government\President of US  Search this
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Congressional Gold Medal  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
NPG.67.34
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition:
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View:
NPG, East Gallery 111
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm43958ed9e-d525-456d-bdb3-eb53b4545223
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.67.34