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Artist
Unidentified Artist
Possibly after
Simon van de Passe, 1595 - 1647
Sitter
John Smith, 1579/80 - Jun 1631
Date
c. 1617
Type
Print
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
Image: 15 × 9.2 cm (5 7/8 × 3 5/8")
Mount: 28.7 × 21 cm (11 5/16 × 8 1/4")
Mat (Verified): 45.7 × 35.6 cm (18 × 14")
Topic
Weapon\Sword
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
John Smith: Male
John Smith: Literature\Writer
John Smith: Natural Resource Occupations\Explorer
John Smith: Science and Technology\Scientist\Cartographer
John Smith: Natural Resource Occupations\Pioneer\Colonizer
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.72.113
Exhibition Label
Born Willoughby, Lincolnshire, England
John Smith was a founder of Jamestown, England’s first permanent North American settlement. The accuracy of his famous claim that Pocahontas, pictured nearby, saved his life during his captivity by the Powhatan people in 1607 is dubious; Smith’s account likely misinterprets Pocahontas’s role in a Powhatan ritual. As president of the colony’s governing council from 1608 until 1609, Smith instituted policies that helped Jamestown survive inadequate provisions and disease. He later criticized the Virginia Company of London, which funded the venture, for putting profits over the colonists’ safety.
Smith briefly returned to North America in 1614 to explore the northeast region, which he named New England in the hopes of attracting English investment. In 1616, Smith published this portrait of himself in a tract promoting the region. Although the text refers to Smith as the “Admiral of New England,” his bid to lead colonization efforts in the area was ultimately unsuccessful.
Nacido en Willoughby, Lincolnshire, Inglaterra
John Smith fue uno de los fundadores de Jamestown, primer asentamiento inglés permanente en Norteamérica. La veracidad de su famosa afirmación de que Pocahontas, representada aquí cerca, le salvó la vida cuando estuvo prisionero de los powhatan en 1607 es dudosa. Posiblemente malinterpretó el papel de Pocahontas en un ritual powhatan. Como presidente del consejo de gobierno de Jamestown entre 1608 y 1609, Smith instituyó políticas que los ayudaron a sobrevivir con provisiones inadecuadas y enfermedades. Luego criticaría a la Virginia Company de Londres, que subsidió el asentamiento, por anteponer las ganancias a la seguridad de los colonos.
Smith regresó brevemente a Norteamérica en 1614 para explorar la región noreste, que llamó Nueva Inglaterra con la esperanza de atraer inversiones inglesas. En 1616 publicó este retrato suyo en un folleto de promoción. Aunque el texto lo llama “almirante de Nueva Inglaterra”, su aspiración de dirigir los esfuerzos de colonización en el área no prosperó.
