John Quincy Adams (1767 – 1849)
Adams was the first (ex) President to be photographed, in 1843 … though there are claims that Harrison was photographed in 1841, no proof exists.
The 6th President of the United States, 1825 – 1829
When Adams sat for this portrait, he doubted that artist George Caleb Bingham could produce “a strong likeness.” Ralph Waldo Emerson commented that the aging Adams was “like one of those old cardinals, who as quick as he is chosen Pope, throws away his crutches and his crookedness, and is as straight as a boy.”
AKA: Old Man Eloquent or The Abolitionist
From: Massachusetts
College: Harvard College, class of 1787
Married to: Louisa Adams
Children: Charles Francis Adams, Sr, George Washington Adams, John Adams II, Louisa Catherine Adams
Party: Federalist, Democratic-Republican, Whig
Previous Jobs: secretary, lawyer, state senator, senator, diplomat, Secretary of State
In His Words: “Civil liberty can be established on no foundation of human reason which will not at the same time demonstrate the right of religious freedom.”
“The manners of women are the surest criterion by which to determine whether a republican government is practicable in a nation or not.”
“America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.”
Not true: Adams’ service to the United States became an issue in the 2012 Presidential race, 183 years after he died. Michelle Bachmann famously declared that our founding fathers “worked tirelessly to end slavery.” When journalists called Bachmann on being inaccurate, she cited John Quincy Adams as one founding father that was an example of what she meant. In spite of his unprecedented international experience at a very tender age, it does seem to stretch credibility to call him a founding father, as he was only 9 years old in 1776. It is true that he railed against slavery while serving in the House of Representatives, but he was not a steady advocate for abolition until after he was President.
True: He served in the diplomatic service at the age of 13 as the secretary to the US envoy to Russia. He later was one of the secretaries to Jefferson and Franklin, helping them draft the documents confirming US independence from Great Britian. He was barely 16.
In the 1824 Presidential election, he did not win the popular vote, nor a majority of the electoral college. Because no candidate won a majority, he was eventually selected as President by the House of Representatives. Adams had been a brilliant diplomat, but proved to be an idealistic and inflexible President. He followed his father’s unfortunate example as the 2nd President to only serve one term.
He’s the only President to serve in the House of Representatives after he left the White House.
The Official Portrait:
George Peter Alexander Healy was one of the most prolific portrait artists of his day. He painted 18 Presidents, from John Quincy Adams to Ulysses S Grant. Some of his other famous paintings were of Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Pope Pius IX and John James Audobon.
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Theodore Roosevelt (1858 – 1919)
The 26th President of the United States, 1901 – 1909
AKA: Teddy
From: New York
College: Harvard class of 1880, Columbia Law School
Married to: Alice Hathaway Lee, Edith Kermit Carrow
Both his mother and his first wife died on the same day; his diary entry said “The light has gone out of my life.”
Children: Alice (with Alice), and with Edith: Theodore Jr., Kermit, Ethel Carrow, Archibald Bulloch and Quentin
Party: Republican, Bull Moose
Previous Jobs: Cattle rancher, deputy sheriff, historian, naturalist, explorer, author of 35 books, police commissioner, assistant Secretary of the Navy, governor of New York, war hero, and lawyer.
In His Words: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
“When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer ‘present’ or ‘not guilty.'”
Portrait by Adrian Lamb
Not true: The Iron Ore, a newspaper in Marquette County, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, accused Teddy of public drunkenness. The editorial stated, “Roosevelt lies, and curses in a most disgusting way, he gets drunk too, and that not infrequently, and all of his intimates know about it.” Roosevelt was running for President at the time as the standard bearer for the Bull Moose Party, and he sued for libel in what became one of the most celebrated trials of 1912. The newspaper editor admitted guilt, and Teddy settled for six cents … the “price of a good newspaper,” he said. The Iron Ore cost three cents.
True: As the first conservationist president, he spearheaded the creation of the United States Forest Service, and established five new national parks. He was responsible for the start of the Wildlife Refuge system. During his administration, 42 million acres were set aside as national forests, wildlife refuges, and areas of special interest (such as the Grand Canyon).
He coined the phrase “good to the last drop” after being asked about the quality of Maxwell House coffee.
The Official Portrait:
Edith Roosevelt portrait, by Theobald Charlton, 1902
John Singer Sargent’s painting would be the official portrait of the President, but it wasn’t the first. In 1902 Theobald Chartran was commissioned to paint portraits of the President and his wife. Although she enjoyed her’s, Teddy simply hated his. At first they tried to hide the blasted thing in an upper corridor in the darkest place on the wall. The family called it the “Mewing Cat.” Teddy disliked it so much that he eventually destroyed it.
What Teddy wanted was a man’s portrait by a artist that could capture the adventurer that he was.
The two men walked around the house searching for the right setting, but nothing was working. As they climbed the stairs, Teddy barked that Sargent must not know what he wanted. Sargent, who was also frustrated, snapped back that he didn’t think the President appreciated what was needed to pose for a portrait. Roosevelt, the stairway landing, planted his hand on the balustrade post, turned onto the ascending artist and said, “Don’t I!”
And that was the pose Sargent wanted.
Sargent’s portrait of Teddy Roosevelt was exactly what Teddy Roosevelt wanted and he would adore the portrait for the rest of his life. It had exactly captured, in the President’s eyes, the essence of his energy as well as his presidency.
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