CC0 · no rights reserved
Portrait of a Gentleman
From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
In the first decades of the nineteenth century, Roman artworks became fashionable among Americans. Men like this sitter imitated the short, combed-over hairstyles of ancient portrait busts. Beards, however, did not become widely accepted until the 1840s. Joseph Palmer, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, wore a beard in 1830 and was publicly criticized for what was then considered a violation of propriety. His church refused him Communion, and four men even attacked him to try and shave off the beard in the interests of “morality.” By 1845, beards were seen as a mark of masculinity.
Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit linePortrait of a Gentleman. ca. 1840. Unidentified. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mrs. Henry L. Milmore through Mr. Henry L. Milmore. CC0.
