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Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams
Attribution
Raphaelle Peale, 17 Feb 1774 - 4 Mar 1825
Sitter
Abigail Smith Adams, 11 Nov 1744 - 28 Oct 1818
Date
1804
Type
Silhouette
Medium
Hollow-cut silhouette, white paper on modern black paper
Dimensions
Image: 9 × 3 cm (3 9/16 × 1 3/16")
Sheet: 10.4 × 8.6 cm (4 1/8 × 3 3/8")
Mount: 17.9 × 14 cm (7 1/16 × 5 1/2")
Topic
Silhouette\Hollow-cut
Costume\Headgear\Hat\Bonnet
Abigail Smith Adams: Female
Abigail Smith Adams: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US
Abigail Smith Adams: Literature\Writer\Letter writer
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.78.282
Exhibition Label
Abigail Smith Adams challenged social and political limitations by advocating for women’s rights, education, and the abolition of slavery. She readily expressed her opinions in letters to her husband, John Adams, by reminding him to “Remember the Ladies” as he helped to establish the new nation’s institutions. Always outspoken, Adams struggled to suppress her opinions when her husband served as president. Adams and her husband retired to Quincy, Massachusetts, at the close of his presidential term in 1800. This hollow-cut silhouette was probably made in October 1804 when the artist Raphaelle Peale stayed with the Adamses while traveling along the eastern seaboard in search of sitters for profile portraits. The inscription and date were added in 1809 by John Quincy Adams when he grouped a number of family members’ silhouettes together in one frame.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view