Levi Woodburn, Secretary of Treasury

Art Historical Context

This striking 1837 lithograph by Charles Fenderich portrays Levi Woodburn, who served as Secretary of the Treasury during a pivotal period in early American finance. Created just as the United States grappled with economic challenges following the Bank War, the portrait captures an official whose role placed him at the center of national policy debates. Fenderich, a skilled printmaker active in the mid-nineteenth century, specialized in dignified likenesses of political figures, helping to shape public perceptions through widely distributed images. The work employs the chine collé technique, in which a delicate sheet of Chinese paper is printed upon and then adhered to a sturdier backing. This method allowed for exceptionally fine detail and tonal subtlety in lithography, a relatively new medium prized for its ability to reproduce drawings with remarkable fidelity. The resulting portrait combines crisp line work with soft modeling, lending Woodburn an air of authority and gravitas suited to his office. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Department of Prints and Drawings, this lithograph exemplifies how printed portraits served both documentary and celebratory purposes in Jacksonian America. Its modest yet elegant format made such images accessible to a growing audience eager for visual records of their leaders.