Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.S.15 |
Object Name |
Bust |
Title |
Bust of John Quincy Adams |
Artist |
Cardelli, Pietro |
Date |
1818 |
Description |
Life-size plaster bust of a balding man with short curly hair. There is a short columnar base cast as part of the bust. The bust is coated with off-white, somewhat glossy paint. |
Label |
John Quincy Adams, sixth U.S. president and APS member, is the subject of this portrait. In 1818, the year Adams was elected to the APS, sculptor Pietro Cardelli traveled to Adams' Washington, D.C. home to work on the portrait. Cardelli, a successful sculptor in Europe, had crossed the Atlantic hoping to execute sculptures for the U.S. Capitol, then under construction. Adams helped Cardelli win commissions for busts of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Though Adams rejected Cardelli's first attempt as a poor likeness, he approved this version. The APS received this plaster cast of the bust in 1829, and also holds a copy in cast iron from 1832 (2009.11). As U.S. president from 1825 to 1829, Adams developed the “American System,” including high tariffs, a national bank, increased trade negotiations with other countries, and infrastructure improvement throughout the country. Later, Adams returned to politics as a member of Congress, where he was a prominent opponent of slavery. |
Medium |
Plaster |
Dimensions |
H-23.5 W-11.5 D-9.5 inches |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of Dr. John Kearsley Mitchell, 20 February 1829. |
Search Terms |
19th century nineteenth century sculpture president |