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Jay Gould

Artist
Eastman Johnson, 29 Jul 1824 - 5 Apr 1906
Sitter
Jay Gould, 27 May 1836 - 2 Dec 1892
Date
1896
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 153.7 x 102.6cm (60 1/2 x 40 3/8")
Frame: 198.1 x 149.9 x 17.8cm (78 x 59 x 7")
Topic
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair\Armchair
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Jay Gould: Male
Jay Gould: Business and Finance\Banking and Finance\Financier
Jay Gould: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Industrialist\Railroad
Jay Gould: Science and Technology\Surveyor
Portrait
Credit Line
Owner: Grey Art Gallery, New York University

This record is part of the Catalog of American Portraits, a research archive of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Permission to reproduce images (if available) must be obtained from the portrait owner. Please note that if an owner is listed above, this information may not be current.

Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Object number
L/NPG.4.77
Exhibition Label
Born Roxbury, New York
Jay Gould had one of the most turbulent, controversial, and significant business careers in the nineteenth century. He made his first fortune through shrewd trading in stocks and gold during the Civil War. Postwar, he came to public attention in his protracted financial “war” against Cornelius Vanderbilt over the Erie Railroad. In 1881, he gained control of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Gould’s dizzying financial maneuvering and his attempt to corner the market in gold cemented his reputation as a predatory capitalist or robber baron.
During the second half of his career, Gould established himself as an innovative and creative businessman, reviving the failing Union Pacific Railroad and turning it into an efficient and profitable transportation system. Ruthless but never a mere speculator, Gould’s wide-ranging influence on business, from the financial markets to modern management techniques,
Nacido en Roxbury, Nueva York
Jay Gould tuvo una de las carreras de negocios más turbulentas, polémicas e importantes del siglo XIX. Hizo su primera fortuna mediante el hábil comercio de valores y oro durante la Guerra Civil. Luego se hizo notar por su larga “guerra” financiera contra Cornelius Vanderbilt por el Ferrocarril Erie. En 1881 obtuvo el control de la Western Union Telegraph Company. Sus sensacionales maniobras financieras y sus intentos de acaparar el mercado del oro cimentaron su reputación de capitalista rapaz o magnate ladrón.
En la segunda mitad de su carrera, Gould se proyectó como un empresario innovador y creativo al revivir el deteriorado Ferrocarril Union Pacific y convertirlo en un sistema de transporte eficiente y lucrativo. Negociante implacable, aunque nunca mero especulador, ejerció una amplia influencia en áreas desde los mercados financieros hasta las técnicas de administración, ayudando a trazar el curso de la economía moderna estadounidense.
Data Source
Catalog of American Portraits