IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Artist
John Trumbull, 6 Jun 1756 - 10 Nov 1843
Sitter
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 25 Feb 1746 - 25 Aug 1825
Date
1791
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on wood panel
Dimensions
Frame: 15.9 x 14cm (6 1/4 x 5 1/2")
Sight: 8.6 x 7cm (3 3/8 x 2 3/4")
Topic
Miniature
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Male
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Law and Crime\Lawyer
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Politics and Government\Presidential candidate
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Revolutionary War Army officer
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Politics and Government\Diplomat
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\General
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Politics and Government\Diplomat\Minister
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Politics and Government\US Congressman\South Carolina
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Politics and Government\Governor\South Carolina
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Politics and Government\Statesman\Signer of Constitution
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Politics and Government\State Senator\South Carolina
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Military and Intelligence\Prisoner of War
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Elise Pinckney
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2007.212
Exhibition Label
Born Charles Town (now Charleston), South Carolina
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, a leading political and military figure in South Carolina who enslaved dozens on his plantations, was sought out by painter John Trumbull in 1791. The artist was traveling along the East Coast “taking heads” of Revolutionary War heroes. During the drafting of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, Pinckney had opposed including a bill of rights declaring all men were born free. He later defended his position, arguing it a “very bad grace when a large part of our property consists of men who are actually born slaves.”
Nacido en Charles Town (hoy Charleston), Carolina del Sur
En 1791, el pintor John Trumbull contactó a Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, importante figura política y militar de Carolina del Sur que tenía docenas de esclavizados en sus plantaciones. El artista iba por la costa este “haciendo cabezas” de los héroes de la Guerra de Independencia. Cuando se redactaba la Constitución de EE.UU. en 1787, Pinckney se opuso a incluir una carta de derechos que declarara que todos los hombres nacían libres. Para defender su posición, dijo que esa declaración se haría “con reticencia, dado que gran parte de nuestras propiedades consisten de hombres que han nacido esclavos”.
Provenance
Elise Pinckney, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, descendant; gift 2007 to NPG
