National Portrait Gallery
Men of Progress
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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
- Christian Schussele, 16 Apr 1824 - 1879
- Sitter
- William Thomas Green Morton, 9 Aug 1819 - 15 Jul 1868
- James Bogardus, 14 Mar 1800 - 13 Apr 1874
- Samuel Colt, 19 Jul 1814 - 10 Jan 1862
- Cyrus Hall McCormick, 15 Feb 1809 - 13 May 1884
- Joseph Saxton, 22 Mar 1799 - 26 Oct 1873
- Charles Goodyear, 29 Dec 1800 - 1 Jul 1860
- Peter Cooper, 12 Feb 1791 - 4 Apr 1883
- Jordan Lawrence Mott, 12 Oct 1799 - 1866
- Joseph Henry, 17 Dec 1797 - 13 May 1878
- Eliphalet Nott, 25 Jun 1773 - 29 Jan 1866
- John Ericsson, 31 Jul 1803 - 8 Mar 1889
- Frederick Ellsworth Sickels, 20 Sep 1819 - 8 Mar 1895
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse, 27 Apr 1791 - 2 Apr 1872
- Henry Burden, 22 Apr 1791 - 19 Jan 1871
- Richard March Hoe, 12 Sep 1812 - 7 Jun 1886
- Erastus Brigham Bigelow, 2 Apr 1814 - 6 Dec 1879
- Isaiah Jennings, 1792 - 1862
- Thomas Blanchard, 24 Jun 1788 - 16 Apr 1864
- Elias Howe, 9 Jul 1819 - 3 Oct 1867
- Date
- 1862
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Stretcher: 128.3 x 190.5 x 5.1cm (50 1/2 x 75 x 2")
- Frame: 162.6 x 225.7 x 12.7cm (64 x 88 7/8 x 5")
- Topic
- Interior
- Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair
- Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses
- Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
- Equipment\Walking stick\Cane
- Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses\Pince-nez
- Architecture\Column
- Artwork\Portrait
- Weapon\Gun\Pistol
- Artist's Effects\Architectural drawing
- Equipment\Patent model
- Isaiah Jennings: Male
- Isaiah Jennings: Health and Medicine\Dentist
- Isaiah Jennings: Science and Technology\Inventor\Dental
- Isaiah Jennings: Science and Technology\Inventor\Firearms
- Joseph Henry: Male
- Joseph Henry: Education\Educator\Professor
- Joseph Henry: Science and Technology\Scientist\Physicist
- Joseph Henry: Society and Social Change\Administrator\Smithsonian Institution\Secretary
- Elias Howe: Male
- Elias Howe: Science and Technology\Inventor\Sewing machine
- Elias Howe: Crafts and Trades\Machinist
- William Thomas Green Morton: Male
- William Thomas Green Morton: Literature\Writer\Medical
- William Thomas Green Morton: Science and Technology\Inventor\Medical
- William Thomas Green Morton: Health and Medicine\Dentist
- William Thomas Green Morton: Health and Medicine\Physician\Anaesthetist
- Charles Goodyear: Male
- Charles Goodyear: Science and Technology\Inventor
- Charles Goodyear: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Industrialist\Manufacturer\Rubber
- Charles Goodyear: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Merchant\Retailer
- James Bogardus: Male
- James Bogardus: Visual Arts\Artist\Medalist
- James Bogardus: Science and Technology\Inventor
- James Bogardus: Science and Technology\Engineer\Structural
- Joseph Saxton: Male
- Joseph Saxton: Science and Technology\Inventor
- Joseph Saxton: Crafts and Trades\Craftsman\Clockmaker
- Jordan Lawrence Mott: Male
- Jordan Lawrence Mott: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Merchant
- Jordan Lawrence Mott: Visual Arts\Art Patron
- Jordan Lawrence Mott: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Industrialist\Manufacturer\Iron
- Cyrus Hall McCormick: Male
- Cyrus Hall McCormick: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Industrialist\Manufacturer
- Cyrus Hall McCormick: Society and Social Change\Philanthropist
- Cyrus Hall McCormick: Science and Technology\Inventor
- Cyrus Hall McCormick: Society and Social Change\Administrator\Society\Historical society\President
- Henry Burden: Male
- Henry Burden: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Entrepreneur
- Henry Burden: Science and Technology\Inventor
- Henry Burden: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Industrialist\Manufacturer\Iron
- Henry Burden: Crafts and Trades\Craftsman\Metalworker\Ironmaster
- Henry Burden: Business and Finance\Transportation\Shipbuilder
- Erastus Brigham Bigelow: Male
- Erastus Brigham Bigelow: Science and Technology\Inventor\Loom
- Erastus Brigham Bigelow: Education\Founder\Technical institute
- Samuel Colt: Male
- Samuel Colt: Science and Technology\Inventor
- Samuel Colt: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Industrialist\Manufacturer\Firearms
- Thomas Blanchard: Male
- Thomas Blanchard: Science and Technology\Inventor
- Richard March Hoe: Male
- Richard March Hoe: Science and Technology\Inventor\Press
- Frederick Ellsworth Sickels: Male
- Frederick Ellsworth Sickels: Science and Technology\Inventor
- Frederick Ellsworth Sickels: Science and Technology\Engineer\Structural
- Frederick Ellsworth Sickels: Science and Technology\Engineer\Civil\Bridge builder
- Eliphalet Nott: Male
- Eliphalet Nott: Education\Administrator\College\President
- Eliphalet Nott: Science and Technology\Inventor
- Eliphalet Nott: Religion and Spirituality\Clergy\Minister
- Peter Cooper: Male
- Peter Cooper: Business and Finance\Businessperson
- Peter Cooper: Education\Founder\School
- Peter Cooper: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Industrialist\Manufacturer
- Peter Cooper: Society and Social Change\Philanthropist
- Peter Cooper: Science and Technology\Inventor
- Peter Cooper: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Industrialist\Manufacturer\Iron
- John Ericsson: Male
- John Ericsson: Science and Technology\Inventor
- John Ericsson: Science and Technology\Engineer\Military
- John Ericsson: Science and Technology\Engineer\Marine
- John Ericsson: Business and Finance\Transportation\Shipbuilder
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse: Male
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse: Visual Arts\Artist\Portraitist
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse: Communications\Journalist
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse: Visual Arts\Art Instructor
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse: Education\Founder\College
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse: Science and Technology\Inventor
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse: Science and Technology\Inventor\Telegraph
- Portrait
- Place
- United States\Pennsylvania\Philadelphia\Philadelphia
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Gallery of Art; gift of the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, 1942
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Object number
- NPG.65.60
- Exhibition Label
- In 1857, the inventor of a coal-burning stove, Jordan Mott, commissioned Christian Schussele to paint this group portrait of nineteen scientists and inventors of the United States who “had altered the course of contemporary civilization.” Schussele represents the group gathered around a table discussing Samuel F. B. Morse’s telegraph device, with other inventions and diagrams scattered about the room. The portrait did not commemorate an actual occasion but was meant to honor national achievement. Schussele began by sketching each figure individually before designing the group composition. In the background, he included a painting of the men’s famed eighteenth-century predecessor, Benjamin Franklin.
- Men of Progress pays tribute to the remarkable growth of the U.S. economy by the 1850s. It celebrates the inventions and processes of manufacturing pioneered by men such as Cyrus McCormick, Charles Goodyear, Samuel Colt, Elias Howe, and Joseph Henry, first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
- En 1857, el inventor de la estufa de carbón, Jordan Mott, encargó a Christian Schussele este retrato grupal de 19 científicos e inventores de Estados Unidos que “habían alterado el curso de la civilización contemporánea”. Schussele presenta al grupo en torno a una mesa, examinando el telégrafo de Samuel F. B. Morse, con otros inventos y diagramas dispersos por el salón. El retrato no pretendía conmemorar una ocasión real, sino honrar los logros nacionales. Schussele comenzó por esbozar cada figura por separado antes de fijar la composición de grupo. Al fondo incluyó una pintura del célebre antecesor de estos hombres en el siglo XVIII, Benjamin Franklin.
- Hombres del progreso rinde tributo al extraordinario crecimiento económico logrado en EE.UU. para la década de 1850. Celebra las invenciones y los procesos de manufactura originados por hombres como Cyrus McCormick, Charles Goodyear, Samuel Colt, Elias Howe y Joseph Henry, primer secretario de la Smithsonian Institution.
- Provenance
- Jordan Lawrence Mott; Mott family; (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); purchased 21 January 1937 by The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift to NGA 1942; transferred 1965 to NPG.
- Data Source
- National Portrait Gallery
- Exhibition
- 2022 Rehang of Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
- On View
- NPG, East Gallery 120
