Thomas Jefferson
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
NPG.82.209
Tags
Art Historical Context
This print portrait of Thomas Jefferson, created around 1800 by engr Cornelius Tiebout, the Founding Father during a pivotal moment in his career. Jefferson had recently served as Vice President and was elected the third President of the United States that same year. Tiebout, active from the late eighteenth into the early nineteenth century, specialized in reproductive prints that brought notable figures to a broader audience. As a print rather than a unique painting, this work reflects the democratic ideals of the early republic by making Jefferson’s likeness widely available through newspap...