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Davy Crockett

Davy Crockett
Artist
Chester Harding, 1 Sep 1792 - 10 Apr 1866
Former attribution
John B. Neagle, 4 Nov 1796 - 17 Sep 1865
Sitter
David Crockett, 17 Aug 1786 - Mar 1836
Date
1834
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 76.2 x 63.5 x 2.5cm (30 x 25 x 1")
Frame: 108.3 x 95.3 x 9.5cm (42 5/8 x 37 1/2 x 3 3/4")
Topic
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair
David Crockett: Male
David Crockett: Military and Intelligence\Soldier
David Crockett: Natural Resource Occupations\Pioneer\Frontiersman
David Crockett: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Tennessee
David Crockett: Military and Intelligence\Army\Army scout
David Crockett: Politics and Government\State Legislator\Tennessee
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; bequest of Ms. Katharine Bradford; frame conserved with funds from the Smithsonian Women's Committee
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2021.2
Exhibition Label
Born Limestone, Tennessee
Davy Crockett came to define the image of the frontiersman while fighting for U.S. expansion on multiple fronts. During the Creek War (1813–14), he served with the Tennessee militia under Andrew Jackson and participated in the Battle of Tallushatchee, in which 186 Red Stick Creeks, including women and children, were killed. Following Jackson’s election as president, Crockett frequently opposed his policies, most notably the Indian Removal Act (1830), which he lambasted as “oppression with a vengeance.”
This portrait, painted in Boston while Crockett was promoting his autobiography (1834), presents him in the guise of a gentleman, as befit his position as a Tennessee congressman (1827–31; 1833–35). After his last term, Crockett headed west, joining Anglo-American settlers who had been promised land in exchange for fighting for Texan independence from Mexico. He died at the Battle of the Alamo in San Antonio on March 6, 1836.
Nacido en Limestone, Tennessee
Luchando por la expansión de Estados Unidos en múltiples frentes, Davy Crockett definió la imagen del colonizador pionero. Durante la Guerra Creek (1813–14), sirvió en la milicia de Tennessee bajo Andrew Jackson y participó en la Batalla de Tallushatchee, donde murieron 186 creeks “bastones rojos”, incluidos mujeres y niños. Ya siendo Jackson presidente, Crockett se opuso con frecuencia a sus políticas, en especial a la Ley de Traslado Forzoso de los Indios (1830), la cual condenó como “opresión sin misericordia”.
Este retrato, pintado en Boston cuando Crockett promovía su autobiografía (1834), lo presenta como un caballero, acorde con su posición de congresista por Tennessee (1827–31; 1833–35). Tras dejar el cargo, Crockett se marchó al oeste, uniéndose a los colonos angloamericanos a quienes les habían prometido tierras a cambio de su ayuda para independizar a Texas de México. Murió en la Batalla del Álamo en San Antonio, el 6 de marzo de 1836.
Provenance
Harding's studio, 1834; Owned by a Mr. Coolidge of Philadelphia in 1910; Mrs. Dorothy Bradford, South Hamilton, MA in 1955; given to her daughter, Katharine Bradford
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Exhibition
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View
NPG, East Gallery 122