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Artist
Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1888 - 1964
Sitter
Frederick Douglass Patterson, 1901 - 1988
Date
1955
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
153.7cm x 101.6cm (60 1/2" x 40"), Accurate
Topic
Exterior
Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses
Nature & Environment\Plant\Tree
Artwork\Sculpture
Costume\Dress Accessory\Handkerchief
Architecture\Building\House
Frederick Douglass Patterson: Male
Frederick Douglass Patterson: Education and Scholarship\Educator
Frederick Douglass Patterson: Presidential Medal of Freedom
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Harmon Foundation
The Harmon Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in New York City (active 1922–1967), included this portrait in their exhibition Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin, which opened at the Smithsonian in 1944 and documented noteworthy African Americans’ contributions to the country. Modeling their goal of social equality, the Harmon sought portraits from African American artist Laura Wheeler Waring and Euro-American artist Betsy Graves Reyneau. The two painters followed the conventional codes of academic portraiture, seeking to convey their sitters’ extraordinary accomplishments. This painting, along with a variety of educational materials, toured nation-wide for ten years, serving as a visual rebuttal to racism.
La Harmon Foundation, entidad filantrópica con sede en la ciudad de Nueva York (activa entre 1922 y 1967), incluyó este retrato en Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin (Retratos de estadounidenses destacados de origen negro), una exposición inaugurada en la Smithsonian en 1944 que documentó las aportaciones de afroamericanos notables al país. A tono con sus ideales de igualdad social, la fundación encargó retratos a la artista afroamericana Laura Wheeler Waring y a la euroamericana Betsy Graves Reyneau. Ambas adoptaron los códigos convencionales del retrato académico para comunicar en sus obras los logros extraordinarios de sus modelos. Esta pintura, junto con diversos materiales educativos, viajó por la nación durante diez años planteando una impugnación visual del racismo.
