Object Details
Artist
John Sartain, 24 Oct 1808 - 25 Oct 1897
Copy after
Jacob Eichholtz, 2 Nov 1776 - 11 May 1842
Sitter
Thaddeus Stevens, 4 Apr 1792 - 11 Aug 1868
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”.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Date
1838
Object number
NPG.79.74
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Print
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")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair
Printed Material\Book
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
Printed Material\Papers
Architecture\Column
Architecture\Building
Thaddeus Stevens: Male
Thaddeus Stevens: Law and Crime\Lawyer
Thaddeus Stevens: Politics and Government\Government official\US Congressman\Pennsylvania
Thaddeus Stevens: Politics and Government\Government official\State Legislator\Pennsylvania
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.79.74