June Visit to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

The National Portrait Gallery is the finer of the two collections housed in the Reynolds Center for American Art & Portraiture in Washington.  In addition to its superb collection of portraits of all 43 past presidents -- several of the earlier ones by Gilbert Stuart -- it has a wonderful permanent collection of great Americans.  From the early colonists to current literati and gliterati, the collection has portraits from every era and every aspect of our history and culture.

The collection is generally organized chronologically, but there are also small thematic special exhibitions.  When I was there in January and June there were several first floor galleries devoted to American dance -- including several video loops.  Although photography is never allowed in the special exhibitions, I realized this only after taking a photo of this strong, sensuous bronze bust of 'Jose Limon' by Philip Grausman.

'Jose Limon' by Philip Grausman, bronze, 1969.  Photo by McClure

Each portrait is accompanied by explanatory wall text about the individual portrayed which will often yield both some known and unknown information about the subject.  Among the more notable personalities portrayed or vivid portraits displayed that caught my eye on this visit were:

'Oliver Hazard Perry' by Martin J. Heade in 1855.  Photo by McClure

This dashing portrait of Oliver Hazard Perry was painted in 1855, but portrays Perry as the 28-year-old who created the U.S. Navy to fight the British in the War of 1812.  After fighting the British in a naval battle on Lake Erie in 1813, he sent the famous message:  'We have met the enemy, and they are ours'.  Less well known is the fact that his crew included many African-Americans.  In speaking of their courage in battle he said:  'They seem to be absolutely insensible to danger'.

'Andrew Jackson' by Ferdinand Pettrich based on an original from 1836.  Photo by McClure

I like this craggy marble portrait bust of Andrew Jackson -- a vivid example of great portrait art -- despite it's largely unlikeable subject.  Jackson was the 7th president.  He vetoed more legislation than all of his predecessors combined.  He was a proponent of states rights and minimal federal government; a supporter of slavery; and a backer/enforcer of the removal of Native Americans to reservations.

'Black Hawk' by George Catlin, oil on canvas, circa 1835.  Photo by McClure

Black Hawk, a leader of the Sac tribe originally living in the Illinois area, was one of the Native Americans portrayed by George Catlin in his extraordinary documentation of Native American tribes.  A large selection of Catlin's American Indian portraits had been displayed at the Renwick Gallery (another Smithsonian venue) which closed for renovation at the end of 2013.  Black Hawk and the Sac tribe were allied with the British in the War of 1812.  In 1832, he instigated what is known as the 'Black Hawk War' in a last-ditch effort to resist Andrew Jackson's aggressive Indian removal policy. He said: 'the cause of our making war is well-known to all white men . . . they ought to be ashamed of it'. 
  

'Daniel Webster' by Francis Alexander, oil on canvas, 1835.  Photo by McClure

This turbulent oil of 'Daniel Webster' by Francis Alexander commemorates Webster's 1818 win before the Supreme Court in the Dartmouth College case.  That ruling upheld the validity of charters granted and contracts made during the colonial period before the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. During his argument before the court he uttered those famous words (at least for Dartmouth alumni):  'It is, Sir, as I have said, a small college.  And yet, there are those who love it'.  Webster went on to become a fiery orator in the fight against states rights and for strong federalism in the era before the Civil War.

'Pierre G. T. Beauregard' by George P. A. Healy, oil on canvas, 1861

General Pierre Beauregard commanded the militia in Charleston, S.C. that was ordered to begin the bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor on April 12, 1861, which initiated the Civil War.  After his success in dislodging the Union forces from Fort Sumter, Beauregard went on to help lead the Confederate Army to victory at the First Battle of Manassas in Virginia on July 21, 1861.

'Robert E. Lee' by Edward Caledon Bruce, oil on canvas, circa 1865

Robert E. Lee was born into a prominent Virginia family.  His father, Henry 'Light Horse Harry' Lee, was a major general in the Revolutionary War.  His father suffered financial losses, spent time in a debtors prison, and died when Robert was just 11-years-old.  The family depended on his mother's relatives for the necessities of life.  Lee went to West Point where he graduated second in his class.  When Virginia voted to secede from the Union in 1861, Lee took charge of the Army of Northern Virginia.  After several initial victories, Lee's lack of manpower and resources gradually took its toll. He surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.   

'Julia Ward Howe' by John Elliot and William H. Cotton, oil on canvas, circa 1925.
Photo by McClure

Julia Ward Howe is best known as the author of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' written in 1861 near the beginning of the Civil War.  It quickly became the battle anthem of the Union cause during the war.  After the war, Mrs. Howe became active in the women's suffrage movement.  This portrait was begun by her son-in-law, John Elliot, in 1910. He attempted to portray her as she would have appeared in 1861 when she wrote 'Battle Hymn'.

'Douglas MacArthur' by Howard Chandler Christie, oil on canvas, 1952

This portrait of General Douglas MacArthur shows him rising from the turbulence of a South Pacific island typhoon. MacArthur, the commander of American ground forces in the South Pacific at the start of World War II, suffered a humiliating defeat in 1942 when he was forced to withdraw from the Philippines as the Japanese advanced.  He promised 'I shall return' -- and he did in the spring of 1945, going on to preside over Japan's final surrender on the battleship USS Missouri on September 2, 1945.  MacArthur then headed the occupation of Japan until 1951 and became the commander of U.N. forces at the beginning of the Korean War.  MacArthur was relieved of command by President Truman on April 11, 1951, for making public statements contradictory to the Truman administration's stated policies regarding conduct of that war.

'George C. Marshall' by Thomas E. Stephens, oil on canvas, circa 1949. Photo by McClure 

This bland, straightforward portrait of General George C. Marshall does not begin to convey the complexity of the man who was both soldier and statesman, strategist and diplomat. As chief of staff during World War II he organized the military mobilization of America for the war.  Following the war, he became Truman's Secretary of State.  In 1947 he developed a plan for American aid to rebuild the war-ravaged countries of Europe that became known as the Marshall Plan -- one of the greatest triumphs of American diplomacy. 

'Carl Sandberg' by William A. Smith, oil on canvas, 1961. Photo by McClure 

Carl Sandberg was an American man of letters -- poet, biographer, and booster of what was best about our country. He wrote the poem 'Chicago' ('hog butcher to the world') and a 6-volume biography of Lincoln.  This wistful portrait shows him nearing the end of his distinguished career.

'Gertrude Stein' by Jo Davidson, terra cotta, 1923. Photo by McClure 

Jo Davidson depicts the doyenne of early 20th century modernism as a 'sort of modern Buddha'.  Stein wrote spare, repetitive poetry that inspired composers, artists, playwrights and other poets.  Gertrude Stein and her life partner, Alice B. Toklas, were the center of an avant-garde coterie that converged on their legendary Paris apartment every Saturday evening for nearly 40 years.

'Self-Portrait with Rita' by Thomas Hart Benton, oil on canvas, 1922. Photo by McClure 

Thomas Hart Benton painted this self-portrait with his wife, Rita, on Martha's Vineyard during their first year of marriage.  It is in the muscular style that Benton was just developing which would lead him to become one of the great painters and muralists of the American 'Regionalist' movement.

'The Recital (Portrait of Denyce Graves)' by Nelson Shanks, oil on canvas, 2000. Photo by McClure  

The message of this portrait seems to be:  'you can take the opera diva out of the drama, but you can't take the drama out of the diva'.  Nelson Shanks dramatic portrait of Denyce Graves in recital with her accompanist, Marc Mostovoy, conveys the intensity that Ms. Graves brought to roles such as Carmen and Delilah in the great opera houses of the world.

'The Four Justices' by Nelson Shanks, oil on canvas, 2012. Photo by McClure 

I found this quadruple portrait in a prominent location in the north lobby.  Nelson Shanks uses the traditional Dutch group portrait as a model for his portrait of the first four women to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Although they never all sat on the Court together, the elevation of these four extraordinary women to the highest court in the land, beginning in 1981, speaks to the continuing advancement of women's rights in our country.  Clockwise from bottom center they are: Sandra Day O'Connor (associate justice from 1981 through 2006); Sonya Sotomayor (associate justice since 2009); Elena Kagan (associate justice since 2010); and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (associate justice since 1993).  It may not be the greatest art in the building, but it sure is great American history.