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Admiral George Dewey

Admiral George Dewey
Artist
Théobald Chartran, 20 Jul 1849 - 18 Jul 1907
Sitter
George Dewey, 26 Dec 1837 - 16 Jan 1917
Date
1900
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Sight: 125.7 x 87.3 x 3.8cm (49 1/2 x 34 3/8 x 1 1/2")
Frame: 154.9 x 115.6 x 13.3cm (61 x 45 1/2 x 5 1/4")
Topic
Costume\Headgear\Military
Costume\Jewelry\Ring
Exterior\Landscape
Equipment\Walking stick\Cane
Costume\Dress Accessory\Glove
Symbols & Motifs\Star
George Dewey: Male
George Dewey: Military and Intelligence\Navy\Officer\Admiral
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; bequest of Frederick McLean Bugher
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.86.144
Exhibition Label
On May 1, 1898, the first shots of the War of 1898 rang out under the command of Commodore George Dewey. Six U.S. war ships stationed in Hong Kong, known as the Asiatic Squadron, destroyed the Spanish flotilla harbored in Manila Bay while suffering few casualties of their own. After the Battle of Manila Bay, Dewey became a much-heralded celebrity and was promoted to admiral. From 1899 until his death in 1917, he held a powerful leadership position as president of the General Board of the Navy Department, which crafted naval policy.
Charles Schwab was president of Carnegie Steel Company in 1900, when he commissioned the French portraitist Théobald Chartran to paint Dewey and his wife, Mildred Hazen Dewey, in an homage to U.S. naval power. Schwab’s portrait commissions may be seen as one way in which the industrialist retained his influence on the U.S. Navy—and the millions of dollars spent on steel to transform its fleets into armored warships.
El 1 de mayo de 1898 se escucharon los primeros disparos de la Guerra de 1898 bajo el mando del comodoro George Dewey. Seis buques de guerra asignados a Hong Kong, conocidos como el Escuadrón Asiático, destruyeron la flotilla española anclada en la bahía de Manila sin apenas sufrir bajas. Tras la Batalla de la Bahía de Manila, Dewey se convirtió en celebridad y fue ascendido a almirante. Desde 1899 hasta su muerte en 1917, ocupó una sólida posición de liderazgo como presidente de la Junta General del Departamento de la Marina, que delineaba las políticas navales.
Charles Schwab presidía la Carnegie Steel Company en 1900, cuando encargó al retratista francés Théobald Chartran pinturas de Dewey y su esposa Mildred Hazen Dewey como homenaje al poderío naval de EE.UU. Estos retratos podrían verse como una estrategia de Schwab para conservar su influencia en la Marina de EE.UU. y los millones de dólares que esta invertía en acero para transformar sus buques en acorazados.
Provenance
Frederick McLean Burgher, descendant of sitter; bequest 1986 to NPG
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view