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Catalog Data

Artist:
John Sartain, 24 Oct 1808 - 25 Oct 1897  Search this
Copy after:
Jacob Eichholtz, 2 Nov 1776 - 11 May 1842  Search this
Sitter:
Thaddeus Stevens, 4 Apr 1792 - 11 Aug 1868  Search this
Medium:
Mezzotint on paper
Dimensions:
Image: 23.7 × 19.2 cm (9 5/16 × 7 9/16")
Sheet: 36.6 × 27.8 cm (14 7/16 × 10 15/16")
Mat: 56 × 40.8 cm (22 1/16 × 16 1/16")
Type:
Print
Date:
1838
Exhibition Label:
Born Danville, Vermont
The lawyer and politician Thaddeus Stevens devoted his life to eradicating class and racial divisions, championing equal rights and opportunity for all. This portrait commemorates his advocacy of free public education, which he considered essential for social mobility. In his hand, he holds papers referencing his successful campaign in 1838 to obtain state funds for “common schools, colleges, academies.” The building in the background, erected in 1838 on property provided by Stevens, is Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College), which he helped to charter.
A fervent abolitionist, Stevens became active in the Underground Railroad after moving to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1842. Elected to the U.S. Congress in 1848, he threw himself into the battle to end slavery, pledging to “strive by every lawful means to abolish slavery throughout the land.” Stevens’s confrontational nature rubbed many the wrong way. A fellow congressman complained, “I would sooner get into trouble with a porcupine.”
Nacido en Danville, Vermont
El abogado y político Thaddeus Stevens dedicó su vida a erradicar las divisiones de raza y clase, luchando por la igualdad de derechos y oportunidades para todos. Este retrato conmemora su defensa de la educación pública gratuita, la cual consideraba esencial para la movilidad social. En su mano tiene documentos que aluden a su exitosa campaña de 1838 para obtener fondos estatales para “escuelas, colegios y academias comunes”. El edificio del fondo, construido en 1838 en terrenos provistos por Stevens, es Pennsylvania College (hoy Gettysburg College), que él ayudó a constituir.
Abolicionista ferviente, Stevens participó en el "ferrocarril subterráneo" tras radicarse en Lancaster, Pensilvania, en 1842. Electo congresista nacional en 1848, se consagró a luchar por el fin de la esclavitud, prometiendo “tratar por todos los medios legales de abolir la esclavitud en toda la nación”. Su carácter polémico irritaba a muchos. Un compañero congresista llegó a declarar que “prefiero tener un altercado con un puercoespín”.
Topic:
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair  Search this
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair  Search this
Printed Material\Book  Search this
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table  Search this
Printed Material\Papers  Search this
Architecture\Column  Search this
Architecture\Building  Search this
Thaddeus Stevens: Male  Search this
Thaddeus Stevens: Law and Crime\Lawyer  Search this
Thaddeus Stevens: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Pennsylvania  Search this
Thaddeus Stevens: Politics and Government\State Legislator\Pennsylvania  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
NPG.79.74
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 112
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm42a5ae5d6-282e-43c9-b5e2-8795e88007ca
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.79.74