John Joseph Hughes
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Fred W. Hicks, III
Accession Number
NPG.89.64
Tags
Art Historical Context
This lithographic portrait, titled *John Joseph Hughes* and produced by the renowned Currier & Ives Lithography in 1864, the likeness of the pioneering Archbishop of New York. John Joseph Hughes (17971864), the first archbishop in the city, rose from humble Irish immigrant roots to become a towering figure in 19th-century American Catholicism. Amid rising anti-Catholic sentiment, he championed education—founding colleges and schools—and defended Irish communities, solidifying the Church's foothold in a Protestant-dominated nation. Created in the year of his death, this print likely served as a...