[Alexander Hamilton, three-quarter length portrait, standing, left hand on hip, facing left]

Share

Hamilton stands in three-quarter length, left hand on his hip, turned toward the left edge of the frame, a pose that gives the figure an assured, almost forensic presence. The picture reproduces a painting by Daniel Huntington, a leading American portraitist of the nineteenth century who later served as president of the National Academy of Design. Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, died in 1804 after his duel with Aaron Burr, and because he sat for relatively few portraits during his life, later painters and engravers often worked from earlier likenesses. Published by G. Barrie & Sons around 1903, the print shows how the photographic reproduction of historical paintings had become a popular way to bring national figures into middle-class homes.

More from the Historic Print Archive collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.