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Russell's American Almanack for the Year of our Redemption, 1790

Russell
Artist
Unidentified Artist
Printer
Ezekiel Russell, 1743 - Sep 1796
Sitter
Ethan Allen, 21 Jan 1738 - 12 Feb 1789
Date
c. 1779
Type
Print
Medium
Woodcut on paper
Dimensions
Image: 16.1 × 8.7 cm (6 5/16 × 3 7/16")
Sheet: 17.5 × 11 cm (6 7/8 × 4 5/16")
Book closed: 17.5 × 11 × 0.2 cm (6 7/8 × 4 5/16 × 1/16")
Topic
Music\Musical instrument
Costume\Headgear\Hat
Print
Ethan Allen: Male
Ethan Allen: Military and Intelligence\Soldier\Revolutionary War
Ethan Allen: Politics and Government\Patriot
Ethan Allen: Natural Resource Occupations\Hunter
Ethan Allen: Business and Finance\Banking and Finance\Land speculator
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2015.107
Exhibition Label
This small portrait—the only known image of Ethan Allen made during his lifetime—scarcely hints at the larger-than-life persona that made him a force to be reckoned with. Outraged by a court decision that would have stripped frontiersmen of land they were settling in the Green Mountains (now in Vermont), Allen spearheaded a campaign of resistance and intimidation. Emboldened by his successful attack on Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775, he made an impulsive attempt to seize Montreal four months later and was captured by the British. Upon his release, Allen published a scathing account of his two-and-a-half years of imprisonment, an excerpt of which appears in this issue of Russell’s American Almanack. Turning his attention to politics, Allen unsuccessfully lobbied Congress in 1778 for Vermont’s recognition as an independent state. Always controversial, he devoted his last years to writing radical theological treatises.
Este pequeño retrato, única imagen conocida de Ethan Allen hecha en vida, apenas sugiere la formidable personalidad que lo hacía una fuerza avasalladora. Indignado por un dictamen de los tribunales que habría despojado a los colonos de tierras donde se estaban asentando en la zona de las Green Mountains (hoy en Vermont), Allen lideró una campaña de resistencia e intimidación. Su exitoso ataque al fuerte Ticonderoga en mayo de 1775 lo animó a intentar tomar Montreal cuatro meses más tarde, pero fue capturado por los ingleses. Al ser liberado publicó un crudo recuento de sus dos años y medio en prisión, del cual se publicó un extracto en esta edición de Russell’s American Almanack. Luego dirigió su atención a la política y en 1778 cabildeó infructuosamente ante el Congreso por que se reconociera a Vermont como estado independiente. Siempre controversial, dedicó sus últimos años a escribir tratados teológicos radicales.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view