This is a list of portraits of Andrew Jackson, who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Born with hair variously described as reddish or sandy, Jackson was 47 years old, middle-aged and with fully "iron-gray" hair, when he came to national renown. All surviving images of Andrew Jackson were created after the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Most early portraits have him in military uniform; according to historian Charles G. Sellers, "The full dress uniform that Andrew Jackson took to New Orleans in 1814, a magnificent outfit costing over $500, had been bought for him in Philadelphia by Joel Childress," the father-in-law of future 11th president James K. Polk, who was sometimes called "Young Hickory" to Jackson's "Old Hickory".
Historians believe that Jackson sat for about 35 portraits, and that there are a total of about 200 paintings of Jackson done in oils or watercolor, many created posthumously and/or copied from existing images. His nephew-in-law Ralph Earl was considered the "court painter" of the Andrew Jackson administration, producing "numerous paintings of Jackson, some of distinction, but many repetitious in nature and mediocre in quality, which were political icons rather than art." Earl painted his first Jackson portrait on or around February 22, 1817. John James Audubon, who lived in the lower Mississippi River valley in the early 1820s, saw one Earl portrait of Jackson that had been purchased by the city of New Orleans, about which he wrote in his journal, "Great God forgive Me if my judgment is Erroneous, I Never Saw A Worse painted Sign in the streets of Paris." On the other side of the coin, Jacksonians held "the firm opinion that Earl's canvasses reflect the true likeness and character of the General better than his more celebrated contemporaries. After all, they reason, Earl had the advantage of many years of intimate daily association with his subject."
Jackson also sat for photographers in the 1840s, resulting in four surviving daguerreotypes of him in old age, when he was constantly ill and toothless (physically if not behaviorally). The portrait on the US$20 bill created by the U.S. Treasury department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the 1920s is based on Thomas Sully's posthumous paintings of Jackson based on earlier sketches drawn from life, such as the 1845 portrait now housed in the National Gallery of Art. Sully depicted Jackson with somewhat wavy hair, but Jackson's hair was usually described as "stiff and wiry" or "bristling."
Biographer Andrew Burstein divided the portraits of Jackson into three general categories of depiction: gentleman, enigma, and hero, creating a confusion such that "Jackson's elusiveness to the modern mind is well-symbolized" by the variation. Another writer commented: "after viewing this extensive Jacksonian gallery, one is prompted to exclaim: 'Will the real Andrew Jackson please stand up!'"
Color key: Pre- and post-presidential portraits Presidential-era portraits
Paintings Image Date Age Artist Institution Technique Notes181548Nathan Wheeler?Oil on canvasThere are no known images of Andrew Jackson before 1815, this was painted from life in 1815 after the battle of New Orleans181548Jean François de ValléeHistoric Hudson ValleyMiniature on ivory50John Wesley JarvisWhite House CollectionOil on canvasImproved copy of Jarvis' own original, which he modeled after the 1815 portrait by Nathan Wheeler.181750Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlNational Portrait Gallery181750Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlThe Hermitage, Nashville181750Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlTennessee State Museum181952Samuel Lovett WaldoMetropolitan Museum of ArtOil on canvas181952Samuel Lovett WaldoHistoric New Orleans Collection Oil on canvas 181952Samuel Lovett WaldoAddison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Andover Academy Oil on canvas According to biographer Robert V. Remini, Waldo produced one of the "better likenesses" of JacksonRemini (1977), illustration insert181952Charles Willson PealeThe Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania of The Grand Lodge F. & A. M. of Pennsylvania, PhiladelphiaOil on canvas181952Rembrandt PealeMaryland Center for History and CultureOil on canvasCommissioned by the city of Baltimore. Historian Andrew Burstein notes that father and son Peale painted their portraits of Jackson within a month of each other "yet the two likenesses suggest dramatically different men."181952Anna Claypoole PealeYale University Art GalleryWatercolor on ivoryPainted in Washington, D.C. while Jackson was there defending himself in Congress against charges of misconduct in the First Seminole War181952John Wesley JarvisMetropolitan Museum of ArtOil on canvas Commissioned by the city of New York; Remini considered this a "romantic portrait"55Possibly Matthew Harris JouettHistoric New Orleans CollectionOil on wood panel182457Thomas SullyPainted from life, "the original 1824 study was privately owned by Mrs. Breckenridge Long in 1940, but its current location is unknown."182457Robert StreetSedalia Public Library, Sedalia, Missouri182857Asher B. DurandNew York City HallOil"After John Vanderlyn," collection of New-York Historical Society, New York182861James Barton Longacre (attributed)Original image lost (?)182962Thomas SullyOil on panelSold at auction on May 20, 2010 from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.183063Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlDAR MuseumOil on canvas"The Jockey Club Portrait" Jackson is sitting in a chair ordered by James Monroe from Pierre-Antoine Bellange, in the distance is the U.S. Capitol with the "Bullfinch dome," which is distinct from the present dome.183063Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlPrivate collection"Farmer Jackson" portrait1828–183161–66Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlThe Hermitage, Nashville"Tennessee gentleman" portrait183265Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlNorth Carolina Museum of Art183366Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlBrooks Museum of Art, Memphis183366Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlThe Hermitage, NashvilleAndrew Jackson Astride Sam Patch1832–3565–68William James Hubard183568Samuel M. Charles"Miniature"Andrew Jackson had lost all of his original teeth by 1828. Per biographer Robert V. Remini, he was "refusing to wear his dentures" when he sat for this portrait.183568Second Bank of the United States, Independence National Park, PhiladelphiaDepicts Jackson, seated at the White House, pointing a copy of the Proclamation to the People of South Carolina183568Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlWhite House CollectionOil on canvas183568Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlThe Hermitage, Nashville183669Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlColumbia Museum of Art, Columbia, South Carolina1836–3769–70Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlSmithsonian American Art Museum"The National Picture," possession transferred to museum from U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia183669William Stewart Watson183770Ralph Eleaser Whiteside EarlThe Hermitage, Nashville184073Miner Kilbourne KelloggNational Portrait GalleryOil on canvasJanuary 184073Jacques AmansHistoric New Orleans CollectionOil on canvasJackson is seen on the occasion of his visit to New Orleans on the 25th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.184073Edward Dalton MarchantUnion League of Philadelphia (?)Oil on canvas184073James Tooley Jr."After Marchant"184073National Portrait GalleryOil on canvas184275John Wood DodgeTennessee State MuseumCommissioned by Gen. Robert ArmstrongMay 184578George Peter Alexander HealyThe Hermitage, NashvilleOil on canvasPainted from life when Jackson was near death, Healy painted a portrait of Sarah Yorke Jackson during the same sittings; three versions exist; "According to Marquis James's biography of Jackson, a dropsical swelling having spread to Jackson's face, only the eyes, the right one blind, the forehead and the hair were painted from life."
Photographs
Image Date Age Artist Technique Notes1840?J. E. Moore of New Orleans was "reported in March of 1842 as practicing the daguerrean art at the rooms of Madame Berniaud at the corner of Baronne and Canal streets. Specimens of the daguerreotype on view at his rooms included a likeness of General Andrew Jackson."1844–4577–78Possibly by Edward Anthony, copy made by Mathew BradyHalf-plate gold-tone daguerreotype1844–4577–78Possibly by Edward Anthony, copy made by Mathew BradyHalf-plate gold-tone daguerreotypeCopy by Mathew Brady
Posthumous
Image Date Artist Institution Technique Notes1845Thomas SullyNational Gallery of ArtOil on canvasOne of the inspirations for Jackson's likeness on the U.S. twenty-dollar bill.1845Thomas SullyNational Gallery of ArtOil on canvas1857Thomas SullyUnited States Senate CollectionOil on canvas mounted on boardBased on a study from life done in 1824mid-19th centuryWashington Bogart CooperGrand Lodge of TennesseeOil on canvasWashington Cooper was commissioned to paint many of the Grand Masters of Tennessee at this time.1861George Peter Alexander HealyNational Portrait GalleryOil on canvasCopied from the original work painted from life.
Notable engravings and lithographs Image Date Artist Notes?James Barton Longacre"After Sully"?James Barton Longacre"After J. Wood"?James Barton Longacre"After Earl, 1826"James Barton Longacre"Drawn from life"Lithograph1845Currier & IvesLithograph, posthumousU.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Miscellaneous Image Date ArtistInstitution Notes1828William James HubardTennessee State MuseumCut-paper silhouetteLouisa Catherine StrobelThe HermitageAfter she died, Jackson carried around this miniature of Rachel by Strobel after Ralph E. W. Earl.1856Charles F. FisherHistoric New Orleans CollectionJackson in a cloak and a top hat "instead of the cocked hat or chapeau-bras" usually depicted as his headgear at the Battle of New Orleans, said to be "the precise costum [sic] which he wore at the battle of New Orleans;" a similar hat appears in Earl's Tennessee Gentleman portrait and according to biographer Robert V. Remini, "the large beaver hat" was where he kept "notes and memoranda" as he traveled
See also List of memorials to Andrew Jackson List of presidents of the United States on currency Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps
Portraits of presidents of the United States
References
Sources