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Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor (A Study)

Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor (A Study)
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Nelson Shanks, 23 Dec 1937 - 28 Aug 2015
Sitter
Elena Kagan, born 28 Apr 1960
Sonia Maria Sotomayor, born 25 Jun 1954
Date
2012
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Board: 54 × 59.4 cm (21 1/4 × 23 3/8")
Frame: 73.7 × 80 × 5.1 cm (29 × 31 1/2 × 2")
Topic
Sonia Maria Sotomayor: Female
Sonia Maria Sotomayor: Law and Crime\Lawyer
Sonia Maria Sotomayor: Law and Crime\Judge\Justice\US Supreme Court Justice
Elena Kagan: Female
Elena Kagan: Law and Crime\Lawyer
Elena Kagan: Law and Crime\Judge\Justice\US Supreme Court Justice
Elena Kagan: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\Law
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Annette P. Cumming
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Estate of Nelson Shanks
Object number
NPG.2020.131
Exhibition Label
Elena Kagan (left; born 1960) is the fourth woman to serve on the Supreme Court. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1986, she clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall and worked in a private law firm, in government, and in academia, before President Barack Obama appointed her as solicitor general in 2009. The next year, Obama nominated her to the Supreme Court to replace Justice John Paul Stevens. She was the youngest of the nine justices and the only one to have no prior judicial experience. Kagan voted with the majority in two historic decisions regarding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act and the legality of same-sex marriage.
Since her 2009 confirmation to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor (right; born 1954) has been one of the court’s most visible members. She dropped the ball at Times Square on New Year’s Eve 2013 and drew large crowds during the tour for her best-selling memoir, My Beloved World (2013). Raised by a widowed mother in the housing projects of the Bronx, her public appeal derives in part from the power of her personal story. Sotomayor earned degrees from Princeton University (1976) and Yale Law School (1979), and is the first Latina and third woman to serve on the country’s highest court.
Elena Kagan (izq.; n. 1960) es la cuarta mujer integrante del Tribunal Supremo. Graduada en derecho de Harvard en 1986, fue asistente jurídica del juez Thurgood Marshall y trabajó en los sectores privado, público y académico antes de que el presidente Barack Obama la designara procuradora general en 2009. Al año siguiente, Obama la nominó para el Tribunal Supremo en sustitución del juez John Paul Stevens. Kagan era la más joven de los nueve jueces y la única sin experiencia judicial. Votó con la mayoría en dos decisiones históricas relativas a la constitucionalidad de la Ley de Cuidado de Salud Asequible y la legalidad del matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo.
Desde su confirmación para el Tribunal Supremo en 2009, Sonia Sotomayor (der.; n. 1954) ha sido uno de los miembros más visibles de dicho foro. En 2013, hizo bajar el globo de Año Nuevo en Times Square y atrajo multitudes en su gira para promocionar sus exitosas memorias Mi mundo adorado. Criada por su madre viuda en un complejo de vivienda pública en el Bronx, Sotomayor debe parte de su arraigo popular a la fuerza de su historia personal.
Es graduada de la Universidad de Princeton (1976) y la Escuela de Derecho de Yale (1979), y es la tercera mujer y primera latina en el máximo tribunal del país.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view