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Artist
Charles M. Litchfield
Sitter
James Abram Garfield, 19 Nov 1831 - 19 Sep 1881
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, 1832 - 1918
Date
c. 1880
Type
Photograph
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Image: 11.9 × 9.4 cm (4 11/16 × 3 11/16")
Mount: 16.4 × 10.6 cm (6 7/16 × 4 3/16")
Topic
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Bowtie
Costume\Dress Accessory\Bow
James Abram Garfield: Male
James Abram Garfield: Law and Crime\Lawyer
James Abram Garfield: Natural Resource Occupations\Agriculturist\Farmer
James Abram Garfield: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\General
James Abram Garfield: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher
James Abram Garfield: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\College
James Abram Garfield: Politics and Government\President of US
James Abram Garfield: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Ohio
James Abram Garfield: Education and Scholarship\Administrator\College administrator\President
James Abram Garfield: Politics and Government\State Senator\Ohio
James Abram Garfield: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Major General
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield: Female
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US
Portrait
Place
United States\Massachusetts\Suffolk\Boston
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of George and Sue Whiteley
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2017.133
Exhibition Label
The journalist Mary C. Ames once described Lucretia Randolph Garfield (1832–1918) as having a “philosophic mind” that made her not only her husband’s equal “but in more than one respect his superior.” Garfield, who was born in Garrettsville, Ohio, loved literature and the classical world. She was fluent in French, German, Latin, and ancient Greek and spent much of her time in Washington, D.C., reading books that she borrowed from the Library of Congress.
On July 2, 1881, only a few months into his presidency, James Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a failed lawyer who had been denied a political appointment. The first lady was still recovering from a bout with malaria but rose from her sickbed to nurse her husband. President Garfield died that September, and she dedicated the rest of her life to the historical preservation of his books and papers.
La periodista Mary C. Ames observó que Lucretia Randolph Garfield (1832–1918) tenía “una mente filosófica” que la igualaba a su esposo e incluso la hacía “en más de un sentido, superior a él”. Garfield, nacida en Garrettsville, Ohio, era aficionada a la literatura y al mundo clásico. Dominaba el francés, el alemán, el latín y el griego clásico, y en Washington D.C. pasó mucho tiempo leyendo libros prestados de la Biblioteca del Congreso.
El 2 de julio de 1881, a pocos meses de asumir la presidencia, James Garfield fue herido de bala por Charles J. Guiteau, un abogado fracasado a quien se le negó un puesto político. La primera dama se recuperaba de un ataque de malaria, pero dejó su lecho de enferma para cuidar a su esposo. James Garfield murió ese septiembre, y ella dedicó el resto de su vida a conservar para la historia los libros y documentos de él.
