Object Details
Artist
Thomas Buchanan Read, 12 Mar 1822 - 11 May 1872
Sitter
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 27 Feb 1807 - 24 Mar 1882
Exhibition Label
Born Portland, Maine
During the mid-nineteenth century, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow enjoyed phenomenal popularity as a poet. His commercial success stimulated new regard for literature as a viable profession as well as a pleasurable entertainment. While preparing for professorships in modern European languages at Bowdoin (1829–35) and Harvard (1835–54) colleges, Longfellow traveled extensively in Europe, learning German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Scandinavian languages. The literary traditions he absorbed through his travels and studies influenced the poetry he began publishing in 1839.
Longfellow wrote his best-known works after retiring from teaching. “The Song of Hiawatha” (1855), “The Courtship of Miles Standish” (1858), and “Paul Revere’s Ride” (1861) are highly imaginative fictions inspired by events from Indigenous and colonial American history. In addition to selling thousands of copies in the United States, Longfellow’s works gained an appreciative international audience and were translated into twenty-four languages, many of which he had mastered himself.
Nacido en Portland, Maine
A mediados del siglo XIX, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gozaba de enorme popularidad como poeta. Su éxito comercial inspiró una nueva apreciación por la literatura como profesión viable además de entretenimiento placentero. Preparándose para enseñar lenguas europeas modernas en Bowdoin College (1829–35) y Harvard College (1835–54), Longfellow viajó extensamente por Europa y aprendió alemán, francés, español, italiano y varias lenguas escandinavas. Las tradiciones literarias que absorbió influyeron la poesía que empezó a publicar en 1839.
Longfellow escribió sus obras más conocidas después de retirarse de la docencia. “El canto de Hiawatha” (1855), “El cortejo de Miles Standish” (1858) y “La cabalgata de Paul Revere” (1861) son textos de ficción altamente imaginativos, inspirados por eventos de la historia indígena y colonial. Además de vender miles de ejemplares en EE.UU., las obras de Longfellow atrajeron a un entusiasta público internacional y se tradujeron a 24 idiomas, muchos de los cuales él mismo dominaba.
Provenance
Purchased from Douthitt Galleries by Julia Livingston Delafield Longfellow in 1945; upon her death in 1963, given to son, Livingston Longfellow; upon his death in late 1963, given to sister, Elizabeth Longfellow Curtis; given to son, Thomas Pelham Curtis II in 1984; given to daughter, Elizabeth Longfellow Kohler on March 10, 2010; gift to NPG in 2017
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Thomas P. Curtis and Elizabeth Longfellow Kohler in memory of Elizabeth Longfellow Curtis
Date
1869
Object number
NPG.2017.20
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 84.1 x 71.1 x 2.5cm (33 1/8 x 28 x 1")
Frame: 97.8 x 83.8 x 8.3cm (38 1/2 x 33 x 3 1/4")
Place
Italia\Lazio\Roma\Roma
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View
NPG, East Gallery 120
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Male
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Poet
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\College
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Scholar\Translator
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist\Abolitionist
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Playwright
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Scholar\Linguist
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Educator\Librarian
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.2017.20