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Moorfield Storey

Moorfield Storey
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
John Singer Sargent, 12 Jan 1856 - 15 Apr 1925
Sitter
Moorfield Storey, 1845 - 1929
Date
1917
Type
Drawing
Medium
Charcoal on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 63 × 47.8 cm (24 13/16 × 18 13/16")
Frame: 73.2 × 58.1 × 2.9 cm (28 13/16 × 22 7/8 × 1 1/8")
Topic
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Necktie
Moorfield Storey: Male
Moorfield Storey: Law and Crime\Lawyer
Moorfield Storey: Literature\Writer
Moorfield Storey: Society and Social Change\Reformer
Moorfield Storey: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Civil rights activist\Civil rights leader
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of James Moorfield Storey
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2004.126
Exhibition Label
Moorfield Storey was a leading civil rights attorney and an outspoken opponent of U.S. military intervention overseas. He served as president of the Anti-Imperialist League from 1905 until 1921 and as president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1909 until 1929. He also advocated for the rights of Native Americans and successfully brought cases before the Supreme Court concerning voting rights, residential segregation, and the prevention of lynchings and mob intimidation in criminal cases. Storey famously declared, “One of the greatest dangers which threatens this country today is racial prejudice and it should be the duty of every person with any influence to discourage it.” Despite his serious purpose, Storey was not without humor, once joking that this charcoal portrait by Sargent might be considered “a fraud on the public, since it represents such an amiable old gentleman instead of a ferocious bruiser.”
Moorfield Storey fue un prominente abogado defensor de los derechos civiles y opositor de la intervención militar estadounidense en el extranjero. Fue presidente de la Liga Antiimperialista desde 1905 hasta 1921 y presidente de la Asociación Nacional para el Progreso de las Personas de Color desde 1909 hasta 1929. También defendió los derechos de los nativos americanos y litigó con éxito ante el Tribunal Supremo casos de sufragio, segregación residencial, prevención de linchamientos e intimi dación en casos criminales. Aún resuenan sus famosas palabras: “Uno de los grandes peligros que amenazan hoy a este país es el prejuicio racial, y toda persona de influencia tiene la responsabilidad de desalentarlo”. A pesar de su serio propósito, Storey no carecía de humor. Una vez comentó que este retrato hecho por Sargent podría considerarse “un fraude para el público, pues presenta a un viejo caballero agradable en vez de un bravucón feroz”.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view