William Brockman Bankhead
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution © Estate of S.J. Woolf
Accession Number
NPG.80.251
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold Samuel J. Woolf's evocative 1937 drawing of *William Brockman Bankhead*, a commanding portrait now housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's National Portrait Gallery collection.ed in the artist's signature drawing medium, this work captures the distinguished Alabama politician—complete with his signature necktie—exuding the gravitas of leadership during a pivotal era in American history. William B. Bankhead served Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives 1936 to 1940, a Democrat instrumental in advancing President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs amid the Great Depr...