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Associate Justice Charles Evans Hughes, 1910
by Barnett Clinedinst, Jr.
When President Taft nominated Hughes to the Supreme Court in 1910, nearly four years of contentious state politics had left the hard-working governor exhausted. While both he and his political enemies were enthusiastic about his pending seat on the Court, Hughes' supporters were crushed. Not only were they losing a strong governor, but it also appeared to end his potential as a future presidential candidate.
Shortly after Hughes joined the Court, he posed in his judicial robe for portrait photographers. Among them was Barnett Clinedinst, Jr., who was also known for combining multiple photographs into single photo-illustrations. Here, he combined his portrait of Hughes (top) with individual photographs of the other members of the Court to create a composite group portrait of the 1912 White Court (bottom). Hughes and the equally distinctive-looking Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. have been chosen as bookends for the composition, thus making Hughes taller and more prominent than most of his senior Brethren despite his having been on the Court less than two years. |