Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Object Details
- Artist
- Thomas Buchanan Read, 12 Mar 1822 - 11 May 1872
- Sitter
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 27 Feb 1807 - 24 Mar 1882
- Exhibition Label
- Born Portland, Maine
- During the mid-nineteenth century, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow enjoyed phenomenal popularity as a poet. His commercial success stimulated new regard for literature as a viable profession as well as a pleasurable entertainment. While preparing for professorships in modern European languages at Bowdoin (1829–35) and Harvard (1835–54) colleges, Longfellow traveled extensively in Europe, learning German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Scandinavian languages. The literary traditions he absorbed through his travels and studies influenced the poetry he began publishing in 1839.
- Longfellow wrote his best-known works after retiring from teaching. “The Song of Hiawatha” (1855), “The Courtship of Miles Standish” (1858), and “Paul Revere’s Ride” (1861) are highly imaginative fictions inspired by events from Indigenous and colonial American history. In addition to selling thousands of copies in the United States, Longfellow’s works gained an appreciative international audience and were translated into twenty-four languages, many of which he had mastered himself.
- Nacido en Portland, Maine
- A mediados del siglo XIX, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gozaba de enorme popularidad como poeta. Su éxito comercial inspiró una nueva apreciación por la literatura como profesión viable además de entretenimiento placentero. Preparándose para enseñar lenguas europeas modernas en Bowdoin College (1829–35) y Harvard College (1835–54), Longfellow viajó extensamente por Europa y aprendió alemán, francés, español, italiano y varias lenguas escandinavas. Las tradiciones literarias que absorbió influyeron la poesía que empezó a publicar en 1839.
- Longfellow escribió sus obras más conocidas después de retirarse de la docencia. “El canto de Hiawatha” (1855), “El cortejo de Miles Standish” (1858) y “La cabalgata de Paul Revere” (1861) son textos de ficción altamente imaginativos, inspirados por eventos de la historia indígena y colonial. Además de vender miles de ejemplares en EE.UU., las obras de Longfellow atrajeron a un entusiasta público internacional y se tradujeron a 24 idiomas, muchos de los cuales él mismo dominaba.
- Provenance
- Purchased from Douthitt Galleries by Julia Livingston Delafield Longfellow in 1945; upon her death in 1963, given to son, Livingston Longfellow; upon his death in late 1963, given to sister, Elizabeth Longfellow Curtis; given to son, Thomas Pelham Curtis II in 1984; given to daughter, Elizabeth Longfellow Kohler on March 10, 2010; gift to NPG in 2017
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Thomas P. Curtis and Elizabeth Longfellow Kohler in memory of Elizabeth Longfellow Curtis
- 1869
- Object number
- NPG.2017.20
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Stretcher: 84.1 x 71.1 x 2.5cm (33 1/8 x 28 x 1")
- Frame: 97.8 x 83.8 x 8.3cm (38 1/2 x 33 x 3 1/4")
- Place
- Italia\Lazio\Roma\Roma
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Exhibition
- Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
- On View
- NPG, East Gallery 120
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
- Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Male
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Literature\Writer
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Literature\Writer\Poet
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\College
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Education and Scholarship\Scholar\Translator
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Literature\Writer\Playwright
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Education and Scholarship\Scholar\Linguist
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Librarian
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.2017.20
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm44bd6bf3e-ea67-49ff-9de8-baaf9c9e2047
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