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Nicholas Biddle

Nicholas Biddle
Artist
E. Luigi Persico, 1791 - 1860
Sitter
Nicholas Biddle, 8 Jan 1786 - 27 Feb 1844
Date
1837 (cast 1838)
Type
Sculpture
Medium
Plaster
Dimensions
Socle footprint: 28.6 x 20.3cm (11 1/4 x 8")
Object w/out socle: 54.6 x 38.1 x 1.6cm (21 1/2 x 15 x 5/8")
Topic
Nicholas Biddle: Male
Nicholas Biddle: Law and Crime\Lawyer
Nicholas Biddle: Business and Finance\Banking and Finance\Financier
Nicholas Biddle: Business and Finance\Banking and Finance\Banker
Nicholas Biddle: Literature\Editor
Nicholas Biddle: Education and Scholarship\Administrator\College administrator\President
Nicholas Biddle: Politics and Government\State Legislator\Pennsylvania
Nicholas Biddle: Politics and Government\State Senator\Pennsylvania
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Museum of American History; gift of Elizabeth Porter Fearing
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.71.32
Exhibition Label
Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
After Congress failed to recharter the Bank of the United States (1811) and soaring inflation followed the War of 1812 (1812–15), merchants and government figures called for a new national bank; the Second National Bank was chartered in 1816. When Nicholas Biddle was selected as its president in 1822, he became one of the most powerful men in the United States. Although Biddle guided the economy through a period of spectacular growth, President Andrew Jackson vetoed the bank’s charter in 1832 because he thought it favored “the rich and the powerful.”
Nacido en Filadelfia, Pensilvania
Luego de que el Congreso no renovara la carta constitutiva del Banco de Estados Unidos (1811), y con la inflación rampante tras la Guerra de 1812 (1821–15), algunos comerciantes y figuras del gobierno clamaron por un nuevo banco nacional. El Segundo Banco Nacional se estableció en 1816. Nombrado presidente del banco en 1822, Nicholas Biddle se convirtió en uno de los hombres más poderosos del país. Aunque Biddle guio la economía durante un período de crecimiento espectacular, el presidente Andrew Jackson pensaba que el banco favorecía a los “ricos y poderosos”, y por esto vetó la carta constitutiva en 1832.
Provenance
Elizabeth Porter Fearing; gift to National Museum of American History; transferred to NPG 1971
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Exhibition
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View
NPG, East Gallery 132