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Walt Whitman

National Portrait Gallery

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Object Details

Artist
G. Frank E. Pearsall, active c. 1871 - 1896
Sitter
Walt Whitman, 31 May 1819 - 26 Mar 1892
Exhibition Label
Creating a distinctly American verse, Walt Whitman kicked down the doors and jambs of genteel Anglo-American literature and took poetry out into the streets and roads of a turbulent and expansive democracy. Whitman sounded his "barbaric yawp" across rooftops and into Leaves of Grass (first published in 1855). His poetic tendency to list, categorize, or catalogue was a legacy of the Enlightenment, yet his joyful earthiness was a far cry from the Enlightenment’s cool rationalism. And whereas his contemporaries, especially Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville, recoiled from the unfixed and unmoored nature of American society, Whitman alone vaulted into the future, not simply walking on the open road but building it as he went along, surveying the ever-changing face of America and Americans. Whitman was also one of the first Americans to comprehend the power of photography to shape a reputation. Photography’s ability to project multiple, diverse personas to the public was naturally appealing to a poet celebrating his—and our—multiple selves. Everywhere and nowhere—that is the paradox of Walt Whitman. In all of his chanting, he still has time to sum himself up in a way that endures: "I know I have the best of time and space, and was never measured and never will be measured. / I tramp a perpetual journey, (come listen all!)."
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Feinberg
September 1872
Object number
NPG.76.95
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Photograph
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 14.1 × 10.4 cm (5 9/16 × 4 1/8")
Mount: 21.6 × 15.7 cm (8 1/2 × 6 3/16")
Mat: 45.9 × 35.7 cm (18 1/16 × 14 1/16")
Place
United States\Pennsylvania\Philadelphia\Philadelphia
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Interior
Costume\Headgear\Hat
Printed Material\Book
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Costume\Jewelry\Chain
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Desk
Walt Whitman: Male
Walt Whitman: Literature\Writer\Poet
Walt Whitman: Communications\Journalist\Editor\Newspaper
Walt Whitman: Education\Educator\Teacher
Walt Whitman: Communications\Journalist\Reporter\Newspaper
Portrait
Record ID
npg_NPG.76.95
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm41b2afef4-ef12-4bcd-9908-840bf441edf0
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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