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Preview image of work. oil on canvas,  Portrait of James Madison 193
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1813.54

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Portrait of James Madison

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Artist

Gilbert Stuart (North Kingstown, Rhode Island, 1755 - 1828, Boston, Massachusetts)

Title

Portrait of James Madison

Creation Date

ca. 1805-1807

Century

early 19th century

Dimensions

48 1/2 in. x 39 3/4 in. (123.19 cm x 100.97 cm)

Object Type

painting

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

oil on canvas

Credit Line

Bequest of the Honorable James Bowdoin III

Copyright

Public Domain

Accession Number

1813.54

In this portrait of Secretary of State James Madison, painted as a companion to Thomas Jefferson, seen nearby, the leader of a new democratic nation is solemnly depicted without the trappings of royalty or aristocracy. Like his fellow Virginian Jefferson, Madison is considered a Founding Father of the United States, and helped to draft the Constitution. A brilliant political theorist, he helped ensure the Constitution’s ratification by the States by outlining the amendments found in the Bill of Rights. His ideas of liberty, however, did not extend to the hundreds of enslaved men, women, and children who labored on his plantation Montpelier in Orange County, Virginia.

Object Description

October 2010:
This portrait of James Madison, like its counterpart of Thomas Jefferson, includes a French-style armchair.


Keywords: portraits