Andrew Johnson
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
NPG.85.167
Tags
About this artwork
Born Raleigh, North Carolina
Art Historical Context
In 1866, engraver John Chester Buttre this striking print portrait of Andrew Johnson, the 17th of the United States, capturing him at a pivotal moment in American history. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Johnson rose from humble beginnings as a tailor to become of Greeneville, Tennessee, Vice President, and then President following Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865. Buttre, a prolific 19th-century portraitist for his detailed engravings, produced this work amid the turbulent Reconstruction era, when Johnson's lenient policies toward the South sparked intense national debate. The print ...