Alexander Hamilton
c. 1806
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 77 x 61 cm (30 5/16 x 24 in.) framed: 90.5 x 75.5 x 9.5 cm (35 5/8 x 29 3/4 x 3 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CAB
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Accession Number
1940.1.8
Art Historical Context
Behold John Trumbull's striking portrait *Alexander Hamilton* (c. 1806), an oil-on-canvas masterpiece measuring 77 x 61 cm, now housed in the National Gallery of Art Andrew W. Mellon Collection. Trumbull, a celebrated American artist and Revolutionary War veteran, masterfully captures the visage of one of the nation's Founding Fathers, rendering Hamilton with a poised intensity that reflects his intellectual vigor. Painted shortly after Hamilton's tragic death 1804 from a duel with Aaron Burr, this work holds profound historical resonance. As the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton...
About the Artist
John Trumbull · 1756–1843
John Trumbull, born on June 6, 1756, in Lebanon, Connecticut, to prominent Puritan descendants, grew up in a politically influential family as the son of Jonathan Trumbull, Connecticut's governor from 1769 to 1784, and Faith Robinson Trumbull. His brothers included Joseph, the Continental Army's first commissary general, and Jonathan Jr., Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. A childhood a...