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Artist
Chester Harding, 1 Sep 1792 - 10 Apr 1866
Sitter
James Monroe, 28 Apr 1758 - 4 Jul 1831
Date
1829
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 76.2 x 63.5 x 2.5cm (30 x 25 x 1")
Frame: 90.2 x 77.2 x 7cm (35 1/2 x 30 3/8 x 2 3/4")
Topic
James Monroe: Male
James Monroe: Law and Crime\Lawyer
James Monroe: Politics and Government\State Legislator\Virginia
James Monroe: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Revolutionary War
James Monroe: Politics and Government\Congressman\Continental congressman
James Monroe: Politics and Government\Cabinet member\Secretary of War
James Monroe: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Captain
James Monroe: Politics and Government\President of US
James Monroe: Education and Scholarship\Administrator\University administrator\University trustee
James Monroe: Politics and Government\Cabinet member\Secretary of State
James Monroe: Politics and Government\Diplomat\Minister
James Monroe: Politics and Government\Governor\Virginia
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of John L. and Ann Beal Sanders in honor of their children, Tracy Elizabeth Sanders Justus, Jane Nesbit Sanders, and William Hardy Sanders
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2005.44
Exhibition Label
James Monroe was the fifth president of the United States, serving two terms (1817–25). He shared Thomas Jefferson’s belief that territorial growth would lead to the political consolidation of the United States. Following the model of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Monroe worked closely with his secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, to convince Spain to sell Florida to the United States in 1819.
Monroe’s most consequential legacy was his message to Congress on December 2, 1823, named decades later, the Monroe Doctrine. Written during the wars of independence of Latin America against Spain (1809–26), it declared U.S. opposition to further European colonialism in the Americas and signaled the United States’ intention to become the dominant power in the region. In 1898, the Monroe Doctrine served as justification for expansionists to oust Spain from the Caribbean. However, anti-expansionists relied on the Doctrine’s anticolonial language to decry the occupation of foreign lands.
James Monroe fue el quinto presidente de Estados Unidos y ocupó el cargo dos veces (1817–25). Compartía con Thomas Jefferson la idea de que el crecimiento territorial conduciría a la consolidación política del país. Siguiendo el modelo de la Compra de Luisiana en 1803, Monroe colaboró con su secretario de estado, John Quincy Adams, para convencer a España de vender la Florida a EE.UU. en 1819.
El legado más relevante de Monroe fue su mensaje al Congreso el 2 de diciembre de 1823, conocido décadas más tarde como la doctrina Monroe. Escrito durante las guerras de independencia de América Latina contra España (1809–26), el texto declaraba la oposición de EE.UU. a la expansión del colonialismo europeo en las Américas y anunciaba su intención de convertirse en la potencia dominante de la región. En 1898 la doctrina Monroe fue la justificación para que los expansionistas expulsaran a España del Caribe. Por su parte, los antiexpansionistas se apoyaron en el lenguaje anticolonial de la doctrina para censurar la ocupación estadounidense de tierras extranjeras.
Provenance
Angeline Pickering Kneeland [Mrs. Henry Timothy Kneeland], New York; her daughters Edith Kneeland [d. 1964] and Vida Kneeland Pell [d. 1967], New York; her son Williamson Pell, Jr.; his widow Mrs. Williamson Pell, Jr.; sold in the mid-1970s by (Parke-Bernet 84) as unidentified subject; (Schillay & Rehs, New York); (Whitehall Antiques, Chapel Hill, N.C.); purchased 1978 by Mr. and Mrs. John L. Sanders
