AMERICAN PORTRAITURE: PRESIDENTS

(continued from last post)
Later on in my project I was able to visit the National Portrait Gallery and see many different collections. But I’ll just start with the Presidents Collection so we can compare. When you think of all of the Portraits of Presidents, especially the official ones, you think of strength and power. Which is exactly what you get in the first few Presidents portraits, like George Washington’s:

George Washington (Lansdowne portrait) by Gilbert Stuart, oil on canvas, 1796

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. 

(http://face2face.si.edu/my_weblog/2013/02/george-washington-the-first-face-of-america.html) 

In comparison, Lincoln’s portrait shows him sitting in a chair, ready to jump up at any moment and also with a pondering expression. This posture alone shows how he thinks before jumping into action, but also is ready to go and help out our country. There is still a great amount of power shown in this painting, because of the detail in the chair and the very perfect lighting (This portrait is in the White House)

Abraham Lincoln by George Peter Alexander Healy, oil on canvas, 1869, State Dining Room in the White House

 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_%28Healy%29)

Now compare this portraits to the ones done by Thomas Eakins. See how humble they look? No wonder no one wanted a commission from him when you could be painted like a President!

Moving into the more current Presidents I again noticed a shift. Presidents began to look more like ordinary men. For instance, the portrait of George W. Bush: 

George W. Bush by Robert Anderson, oil on canvas, 2009

 (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/george-w-bushs-portrait-at-national-portrait-gallery-34317269/)

In this portrait he is not wearing a jacket AND he’s sitting on a couch (and not a fancy couch) looking at you like you just said your daughter just got accepted to go to college. This is a more casual, reach out to the people, I’m one of you moves. Presidents now are trying to not be as high and mighty but relatable. This pose is very comfortable, but it shows off his nice watch, and it shows off his hands (which generally means hard working). Now we see pictures all the time, so we’ve seen tons of pictures and videos of George W. Bush. Back when George Washington and Lincoln got their portraits done, people across the country didn’t see them as often so the impact of their pose and power was awe-worthy.

These are just some of the things I learned. There is definitely more to come with portraiture.

AMERICAN PORTRAITURE: THOMAS EAKINS

This past summer I had the chance to work on a research project I created. My topic was Class in American Portraiture in a Historic context and Contemporary.  During this project I was able to travel around to different museums to get a better understanding of portraiture.

The first place we went was the Philadelphia Museum of Art, home of a collection of Thomas Eakins paintings and sculptures. When we walked into the section that had a group of Eakins portraits gridded on the wall we just saw people. I had no idea why these would be so important to my research. Well, Thomas Eakins portraits were very different from most portraits during this time. They were humble, some considered them ugly, and they were hardly ever liked. One portrait he did of a school teacher we dissected:

Thomas Eakins, Portrait of Lucy Lewis, oil on canvas, 1896, Philadelphia Museum of Art

 (http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/thomas-eakins/portrait-of-lucy-lewis-1896)

Even though this is one of the only portraits that he painted someone with delicate beauty, she still fit the group in which he painted: middle class, educated, and active in her career. He painted all his portraits as if the person was sitting right next to you. There is no separation between the viewer and the sitter. Think to when you see a portrait of a President, there is this separation where they are more important than you, in this other world. This is very different than Eakins, and why he rarely received commissions for portraits. Moving on: 

Thomas Eakins, Portrait of Mary Adeline Williams, oil on canvas, 1900, Philadelphia Museum of Art

 (http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/thomas-eakins/portrait-of-mary-adeline-williams)

This portrait of Mary Adeline Williams. Comparing the two portraits, you can see how he paints them very raw and only hints at their money or success. For instance, in this portrait her energetic blouse shows she isn’t poor and represents her mood. In the Portrait of Lucy Lewis, she is wearing a tiny gold necklace which Eakins just slightly makes glimmer. 

In the next post I will do a comparison to the National Portraits of the Presidents!