Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Thomas P. Curtis and Elizabeth Longfellow Kohler in memory of Elizabeth Longfellow Curtis
Accession Number
NPG.2017.20
Tags
About this artwork
Born Portland, Maine
Art Historical Context
This evocative portrait of Henry Wadsworth Long, painted in 1869 by Thomas Read, captures the renowned American poet at the height of his fame. Read, himself a poet and versatile artist born in 1822, was celebrated for his Romantic portraits that blended literary sensitivity with painterly skill. Commissioned during the post-Civil War era, the work immortalizes Longfellow—born in Portland, Maine a bearded, mustachioed figure of intellectual gravitas, evoking his roles as poet, playwright, translator, linguist, and abolitionist. Longfellow's cultural legacy shines through this canvas: his epic...