Williams Carter
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Accession Number
S/NPG.74.39.12.41
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in 1809, this engraved portrait of Williams Carter captures the refined style of early American likenesses. French-born artist Balthazar Julien Fret de Saint-Mémin, who worked extensively in the United States, produced the print during a period when demand for affordable, reproducible portraits was high among the new nation’s emerging elite. Saint-Mémin was renowned for his precise profile portraits, often created using the physiognotrace—a mechanical device that traced a sitter’s silhouette before the artist engraved the image on copper. The resulting prints could be produced in mult...