Salmon P. Chase
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
NPG.85.60
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1862, amid the tumult of the Civil War, the Bobbett & Hooper Woodaving Co.—a New York firm renowned for its precise reproductions—created this striking portrait print of Salmon P. Chase. As a wood engraving, it exemplifies a 19th-century technique that allowed for intricate details on boxwood blocks, making high-quality images affordable for newspapers, books, and homes. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's National Portrait Gallery, this print captures Chase in an interior setting with everyday objects like a chair, table, bowl, broom, and knife, evoking a sense of domestic auth...