Samuel Adams
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
S/NPG.76.22
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the striking 1781 print portrait of Samuel Adams by John Norman (c. 1748–1817), a Boston-based engraver whose work captured the spirit of America's founding era. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's National Portrait Gallery collection, this piece depicts the fiery Massachusetts statesman with poised elegance, embodying compositional balance that draws the eye to his determined gaze and resolute posture. Samuel Adams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence key Continental Congress member, was a pivotal voice in the push for American liberty. Norman's print, created amid...