James Abram Garfield: Law and Law Enforcement\Lawyer
James Abram Garfield: Natural Resources\Agriculturist\Farmer
James Abram Garfield: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\General
James Abram Garfield: Education\Educator\Teacher
James Abram Garfield: Education\Educator\Professor\College
James Abram Garfield: Politics and Government\President of US
James Abram Garfield: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Ohio
James Abram Garfield: Education\Administrator\College\President
James Abram Garfield: Politics and Government\State Senator\Ohio
James Abram Garfield: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Major General
Portrait
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
NPG.2008.3
Exhibition Label:
While serving in the Ohio infantry, James A. Garfield was elected to Congress in 1862; he represented his home state for eighteen years. Nominated by the Republican Party as its presidential candidate in 1880, he was elected president and inaugurated on March 4, 1881. Garfield had served only four months in office when, on July 2, he was shot by religious fanatic Charles J. Guiteau. Mortally wounded, Garfield died in September. His assassination led to an outpouring of national mourning, which resulted in numerous full-length paintings and sculptures. This small figure appears to be a trial casting a larger statue in Washington, D.C., completed by John Quincy Adams Ward in 1887.
Ole Peter Hansen Balling, 13 Apr 1823 - 1 May 1906
Sitter:
James Abram Garfield, 19 Nov 1831 - 19 Sep 1881
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Type:
Painting
Date:
1881
Topic:
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Clothing & Apparel\Dress Accessory\Tie\Bowtie
James Abram Garfield: Law and Law Enforcement\Lawyer
James Abram Garfield: Natural Resources\Agriculturist\Farmer
James Abram Garfield: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\General
James Abram Garfield: Education\Educator\Teacher
James Abram Garfield: Education\Educator\Professor\College
James Abram Garfield: Politics and Government\President of US
James Abram Garfield: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Ohio
James Abram Garfield: Education\Administrator\College\President
James Abram Garfield: Politics and Government\State Senator\Ohio
James Abram Garfield: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Major General
Portrait
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of the International Business Machines Corporation to the Smithsonian Institution, 1962
Object number:
NPG.65.25
Exhibition Label:
Twentieth president, March-September 1881
Through repeated balloting at the Republican convention of 1880, delegates remained deadlocked in naming a presidential candidate. Finally, after thirty-five ballots, they were ready for a compromise. Rejecting both front-runners-James Blaine and Ulysses S. Grant-the delegates endorsed Ohio congressman James A. Garfield, whose aspirations had been limited to becoming a senator.
The patronage-driven factionalism that led to Garfield's nomination continued to fester following his assumption of the presidency. On July 2, 1881, angered that Garfield had not awarded him a public office, a member of a GOP faction shot the president as he went to board a train. Eleven weeks later, Garfield was dead from his wound.
This staid portrait by Norwegian artist Ole Peter Hansen Balling may have captured Garfield's physical traits accurately, but it did not convey his spellbinding impact on people. Having once been a lay preacher, Garfield was at his most impressive when speaking. According to one observer, his thoughts sometimes seemed to issue forth at the podium "like solid shot from a cannon."
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield (1832-1918), wife of President James A. Garfield. The caption to this photo notes that "Lucretia Garfield lived to the ripe old age of 85
