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Zachary Taylor, 1784-1850
Born Orange County, Virginia
In 1848, Zachary Taylor was elected twelfth president of the United States. It was a time of mounting tension between the North and South due to the expansion of slavery into the new western territories. Although Taylor was a slaveholder himself, he opposed the spread of slavery. At the time of his death, just sixteen months into his presidency, he continued to enslave men, women, and children at his plantations in Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as at the White House. It is believed he was the last president to do so.
John Vanderlyn, a leading American artist who trained in France and had created portraits of President James Monroe, completed a full-length, seated portrait of the president for the Governor's Room in New York's City Hall. This smaller replica, focusing on Taylor's head and shoulders, was acquired by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1877.
John Vanderlyn, c 1850-52 |