Painting

Title:

Daniel Webster

Object Name:

Painting

Creator:

Ames, Joseph (1816-1872) -- Artist

Date:

1852

Material:

Textile
Brass
Wood
Canvas

Dimensions:

H-55.25 W-44.1 inches

Description:

Portrait of Daniel Webster (1782-1852) by Joseph Ames (1816-1872), 1852. Oil on canvas. Three-quarter-length portrait of a man facing right, seated. Sitter has receding black hair, heavy black eyebrows, and brown eyes. Wearing a brown coat with black velvet collar, yellow waistcoat, white shirt with turnover collar, and tied white cravat. Sitters right arm rests on chair arm; left hand tucked into waistcoat. Seated in an Elizabethan Revival chair with red upholstery and turnings. Gray-green background. Signed, right of center, in red paint: "J. Ames / 1852." Brass nameplate on frame: "Daniel Webster. / Joseph Ames." GIlded gesso over molded wood frame with laurel exterior, striped cove, acanthus c-scrolls and twisted rope interior; "I STILL LIVE" applied to upper frame member.

Provenance:

Paintings of Daniel Webster (1901.007.01) and Peter Harvey (1901.007.02) were bequeathed to the New Hampshire Historical Society by Elizabeth F. Harvey (1813-1891), widow of Peter Harvey, friend and biographer of Daniel Webster.

This was the last portrait of Webster painted from life. "I STILL LIVE" is believed to have been Webster's last words before he died at Marshfield, MA, October 24, 1852.

Subjects:

Webster, Daniel, Portraits, Portrait paintings, Memorials, Memorial works, Memory, Congressmen (N.H.), Congressmen (U.S.), Senators (U.S.)

People:

Webster, Daniel (1782-1852), Ames, Joseph (1816-1872), Harvey, Peter (1810-1877), Harvey, Elizabeth F. (1813-1901)

Collection Name:

Inventory

Item Number:

1901.007.01

Accession Number:

1901.007

Type of Material:

Objects

Copyright Statement:

For information regarding copyright, permissions, and reproductions contact the New Hampshire Historical Society

Credit Line:

Bequest of Elizabeth F. Harvey

Participating Organization:

New Hampshire Historical Society