J.C. Calhoun

Art Historical Context

**J.C. Calhoun** is a striking 1848 graphic arts print by Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, the renowned American statesman John C. Calhoun in a-length portrait. Housed in the Smithsonian American Museum's collection through the bequest of Martha F., this work exemplifies 19th-century portraiture's role in immortalizing political leaders. Calhoun, a fiery advocate for states' rights and a key figure in the antebellum South, stares directly at the viewer, his intense gaze reflecting the turbulent era of growing sectional divides leading to the Civil War. As a print medium, the artwork highlights the er...