return HENRY CLAY (1777-1852) by John Neagle (1796–1865) The political legacy of Kentucky's Henry Clay was his unstinting devotion, in the House of Representatives and later in the Senate, to maintaining a strong American union. In 1842 a group of Philadelphia supporters commissioned John Neagle to paint a full-length portrait of Clay, who they expected would run as the Whig candidate for President in 1844. After painting this bust portrait, the artist completed the full-length, which was exhibited in Kentucky before it was brought to Philadelphia. Clay complimented Neagle: "I think you have happily delineated the character, as well as the physical appearance, of your subject." Clay did not win the 1844 election, however; the full-length portrait later became the property of the Union League of Philadelphia. A second version is at the United States Capitol. Oil on canvas, 1842 National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution NPG.93.476 return