Arkivism
President Andrew Jackson
CC0 · no rights reserved

President Andrew Jackson

Hiram Powers, born Woodstock, VT 1805-died Florence, Italy 1873 · modeled 1835 · plaster

From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

Hiram Powers modeled this portrait of Andrew Jackson during his second term as president. Sixty-seven-year old Jackson removed his false teeth for the sittings, insisting, "Make me as I am, Mr. Powers . . . I have no desire to look young as long as I feel old." Powers faithfully sculpted Jackson's sunken upper jaw and the heavy folds of his skin but added a classical flair by draping the bust with a toga and leaving the eyeballs uncarved to reflect contemporary neoclassical tastes. The portrait was deemed a true likeness of the problematic figure, who benefitted financially from labor of enslaved people and whose administration was marked by policies of racial violence, including the Indian Removal Act.

Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own description
Subjects
Sculpture
Credit linePresident Andrew Jackson. modeled 1835. Hiram Powers, born Woodstock, VT 1805-died Florence, Italy 1873. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson. CC0.

Similar works