Existing comment:
"Central casting could not have produced a better image of a Chief Justice, and his presence matched his appearance."
-- Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist
Charles Evans Hughes (1862-1948) was one of the most accomplished public figures of the 20th century: public investigator, Governor of New York, Secretary of State, Judge on the Permanent Court of International Justice, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and very nearly President of the United States. Today he is best remembered for his service as Chief Justice of the United States from 1930-1941.
In 1905, Hughes entered public life as an investigator for the state of New York, bursting upon the world "with the suddenness of an eruption." Journalists and the public alike were fascinated by the image of this striking new figure, a seemingly incorruptible crusader with legendary intellectual powers. Fascination with him only grew as his career progressed, propelled by ever-greater superlatives. "With his great white beard," went a typical comment about him as Chief Justice, "... his appearance was Jovian. One expected him to hurl thunderbolts rather than to read opinions."
And it was that iconic beard which made him instantly recognizable. He grew it in 1890, just as beards were going out of fashion, thus making it stand out even more. Always noted by columnists and writers, clearly prominent in photographs, and often highly exaggerated at the hands of cartoonists, his whiskers became a "national landmark" and the most important physical feature of his public image.
Individually, the pieces in this exhibit explore various facets of that image. Collectively, they show how that image helped define him as a public figure. While his long and distinguished career was due to his intellectual abilities and hard work, his iconic image made an indelible impression which most certainly aided in his successes. |