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Major Stevens

Major Stevens
Artist
Auguste Edouart, 1788 - 1861
Sitter
Major Joseph L. M. Stevens, 2 Jun 1804 - ?
Date
1839
Type
Silhouette
Medium
Lithograph, chalk and cut paper on paper
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 28 × 21 cm (11 × 8 1/4")
Frame: 47.9 × 37.8 × 3.2 cm (18 7/8 × 14 7/8 × 1 1/4")
Topic
Silhouette\Cut-out
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
Container\Urn
Costume\Headgear\Hat\Top hat
Interior\Architecture
Major Joseph L. M. Stevens: Male
Major Joseph L. M. Stevens: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor
Major Joseph L. M. Stevens: Performing Arts\Performer\Dancer
Major Joseph L. M. Stevens: Visual Arts\Artist\Silhouettist
Major Joseph L. M. Stevens: Society and Social Change\Person with a Disability\Dwarfism
Portrait
Place
United States\New York\Kings\New York
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Robert L. McNeil, Jr.
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
S/NPG.91.126.29.A
Exhibition Label
At first glance, Auguste Edouart’s silhouette of Major Joseph L. M. Stevens appears to depict a boy in adult’s clothing. A closer look, however, tells a different story, as Edouart notes: “American Dwarf,” and “42 inches high / 34 years old and weight 50 pounds.” People with dwarfism captured the imagination of citizens in the 1800s. Stevens was employed by the New England Museum and the Boston Theatre, where audiences could indulge their curiosity about a man who frequently played the character “Tom Thumb.” He later took more control over his performances, booking his own venues. Stevens’s career has been overshadowed by the “other” Tom Thumb, Charles Sherwood Stratton, who achieved fame through P. T. Barnum’s shows. While Stevens’s biography goes far to recount his lively social life, the story is nonetheless tempered by the subject’s own observation. Other people, Stevens notes, wanted to spend time with him “for the object of viewing me [rather] than for the pleasure of my company.”
A primera vista, en esta silueta Auguste Edouart parece representar al mayor Joseph L. M. Stevens como un niño con ropa de adulto. Pero una segunda mirada nos dice una historia diferente, ya que Edouart anotó: “Enano americano” y “42 pulgadas de alto / 34 años de edad y 50 libras de peso”. En el siglo XIX el enanismo era algo que cautivaba la imaginación de la gente. Stevens fue empleado del Museo de Nueva Inglaterra y el Teatro de Boston, donde el público podía saciar su curiosidad acerca de este hombre que a menudo interpretaba el papel de “Pulgarcito”. Más tarde tomó las riendas de sus presentaciones y las gestionaba él mismo. La carrera de Stevens ha sido opacada por el “otro” Pulgarcito, Charles Sherwood Stratton, que se hizo famoso con el circo de P. T. Barnum. Si bien la biografía de Stevens describe con sumo detalle su activa vida social, el recuento está matizado por sus propias observaciones. La gente, apunta Stevens, quería pasar tiempo con él “por el mero hecho de verme [más que] por el placer de mi compañía”.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view