Thomas Bethune
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
NPG.2012.15
Tags
HatTablePortraitSheet musicMusicianComposerPianistThomas Greene Wiggins: Male
About this artwork
Born Thomas Greene Wiggins, the blind son of two slaves owned by Colonel James Bethune, “Blind Tom” became famous as a musical savant at a young age. Bethune presented Wiggins throughout Georgia before hiring him out to tour across the country. Wiggins played for President James Buchanan in 1860; the Bethunes also offered his talents to the Confederacy during the Civil War. After emancipation, Bethune convinced Wiggins’s parents to appoint him Tom’s legal guardian. Wiggins earned a fortune for h...