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Jane Addams

Jane Addams
Artist
George de Forest Brush, 28 Sep 1855 - 24 Apr 1941
Sitter
Jane Addams, 6 Sep 1860 - 21 May 1935
Date
1906
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 62.9 x 45.1 x 3.8cm (24 3/4 x 17 3/4 x 1 1/2")
Frame: 78.1 x 67.3 x 7cm (30 3/4 x 26 1/2 x 2 3/4")
Topic
Jane Addams: Female
Jane Addams: Literature\Writer
Jane Addams: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Social reformer
Jane Addams: Society and Social Change\Social worker
Jane Addams: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Peace activist
Jane Addams: Nobel Prize
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of Mrs. Nancy Pierce York and Mrs. Grace Pierce Forbes
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.78.48
Exhibition Label
The social reformer Jane Addams gave her first speech against imperialism on April 30, 1899, when she declared, “For good or ill we suddenly find ourselves bound to an international situation.... Do we mean to democratize the situation?” Addams argued that the United States was responsible to help everyone flourish through democratic means and pointed out that colonialism challenged the nation’s founding ideals of liberty, democracy, and freedom. “National events determine our ideals, as much as our ideals determine national events,” she said. Addams’ pacifist efforts throughout her life culminated in her winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
This portrait of Addams was made from life in Dublin, New Hampshire, and offers psychological insight through its rendering of Addams’ dignified, serene manner and her stern expression. Addams, however, detested the portrait, calling it one of a “long line of dismal failures” of portraits made of her.
La reformista social Jane Addams pronunció su primer discurso contra el imperialismo el 30 de abril de 1899, declarando: “Para bien o para mal, de pronto nos encontramos atados a una situación internacional. [...] ¿Es nuestra intención democratizar la situación?”. Addams proponía que EE.UU. tenía la responsabilidad de fomentar la prosperidad de todos por medios democráticos y que el colonialismo contradecía los ideales fundacionales de libertad y democracia de la nación. “Los sucesos nacionales determinan nuestros ideales en igual medida que nuestros ideales determinan los sucesos nacionales”, afirmó. Sus esfuerzos pacifistas culminaron con el Premio Nobel de la Paz en 1931.
Este retrato pintado del natural en Dublin, Nueva Hampshire, ofrece una perspectiva psicológica en la actitud digna y serena de Addams y su expression sobria. Ella detestó la obra, incluyéndola en “una larga lista de tristes [retratos suyos] fracasados".
Provenance
The artist; his daughter Mary Brush Pierce [Mrs. Winslow S. Pierce, Mrs. William James, Mrs. Grenville Clark]; her daughter Grace Pierce Forbes [Mrs. H.A. Crosby Forbes], Cambridge, Mass., and Nancy Pierce York [Mrs. Wynn York], granddaughters of artist; donative purchase to NPG 1978
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view