Visualizing Democracy

Learn how portraiture can convey democratic ideals.

George Washington (1800) by William ClarkeSmithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

Portraits lend insight into history and biography. At the National Portrait Gallery, we use the visual clues found in our objects to discover more about the individual featured in the artwork.

Thomas Jefferson (1805/1821) by Gilbert StuartSmithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

Visualize democracy from the colonial era to the twenty-first century by analyzing portraits of major figures who played a critical role—as government officials, engaged citizens, or both—in creating a democratic society for the United States.

General George S. Patton, Jr. (1945) by Boleslaw Jan CzedekowskiSmithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

This online program is tailored to students in grades 4-12. Explore images from the Portrait Gallery's collection in detail and investigate how portraiture can convey democratic ideals.

As you explore...

...consider how the various sitters contribute to American democracy. What struggles or challenges did they face in their quests to achieve democratic ideals and justice?

United States Senate Chamber (1846) by Thomas Doney, Copy after: James A. Whitehorne, Copy after: Victor Piard, and Copy after: Anthony, Clark & CompanySmithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

What is democracy?

Democracy is a form of government in which the people hold political power and can rule either directly or indirectly, through elected representatives.

Declaration of Independence (1818) by James Barton Longacre, Copy after: Gilbert Stuart, Copy after: Bass Otis, and Copy after: John Singleton CopleySmithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

The Birth of a New Nation

How do the following sitters from early American history represent democracy in the United States? 

Congress Voting Independence, Edward Savage, 1906, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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George Washington (Lansdowne Portrait), Gilbert Stuart, 1796, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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John Adams, John Trumbull, 1793, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Thomas Jefferson, Mather Brown, 1786, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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John Jay, Gilbert Stuart, Begun 1784; completed by 1818, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Alexander Hamilton, John Trumbull, 1806, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Thomas Paine, Laurent Dabos, 1792, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Red Jacket (Sagoyewatha), Thomas Hicks, 1868, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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George Washington (c. 1786) by Jean-Antoine HoudonSmithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

Branches of Government

In the United States there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.

What clues do you see in the following portraits that reveal the sitter’s role within the U.S. government?

John Quincy Adams, Philip Haas, 1843, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Gardner, 1865, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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First Colored Senator and Representatives, Currier & Ives Lithography Company, 1872, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Jeannette Pickering Rankin, L. Chase, c. 1917, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Mary McLeod Bethune, Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1943, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Signing of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919, John Christen Johansen, 1919, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Thurgood Marshall, Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1956, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Bring U.S. Together. Vote Chisholm 1972, Unbought and Unbossed, Unidentified Artist, 1972, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Sandra Day O'Connor, Michael Arthur Worden Evans, c. 1982, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Norman Yoshio Mineta, Everett Raymond Kinstler, 2009, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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General Colin Powell (2012) by Ronald N. SherrSmithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

Military

How does the U.S. military relate to democracy? What kinds of connections can we make among these representations of military figures? 

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Henry Benbridge, c. 1773, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Harriet Tubman, H. Seymour Squyer, c. 1885, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Clara Barton, Mathew B. Brady, c. 1865, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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The Gallant Charge of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts (Colored) Regiment, Currier & Ives Lithography Company, 1863, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Ulysses S. Grant, Ole Peter Hansen Balling, 1865, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Dwight D. Eisenhower, Thomas Edgar Stephens, 1947, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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General Colin Powell, Ronald N. Sherr, 2012, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Eleanor Roosevelt (1949) by Clara SipprellSmithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

Citizen Engagement

Throughout history, engaged citizens shaped the nation’s history, development and culture. How do the style and medium of their portraits reflect their citizen engagement? Why do you think these are important?  

Abigail Adams, Raphaelle Peale, 1804, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Frederick Douglass, George Kendall Warren, 1876, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Sojourner Truth, Randall Studio, c. 1870, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Belva Ann Lockwood, Nellie Mathes Horne, 1913, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Sallie E. Garrity, c. 1893, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Zitkala-Sa, Joseph T. Keiley, 1898 (printed 1901), From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Unidentified Artist, 1968, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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First Lady Michelle Obama, Amy Sherald, 2018, From the collection of: Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
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Patent Office (c. 1855) by Edward Sachse & Co.Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

The Role of Museums in Democracy

What value do cultural institutions like the National Portrait Gallery bring to a democratic society?  

Benjamin Franklin (c. 1785) by Joseph Siffred DuplessisSmithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

What does democracy mean to you?

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The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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