Lot 811A: EDWARD SAVAGE (1761-1817), EARLY 19TH CENTURY

A Portrait of Alexander Hamilton
signed E. Savage pinxt (lower left)
oil on canvas
27 x 23 inches

Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was born in the West Indies and educated in New York, studying at King's College, known today as Columbia University. From his earliest student days, Hamilton immersed himself in the fire of politics, becoming an advocate for the Patriots and publishing articles that caught the attention of George Washington, who enlisted Hamilton as Secretary of Treasury under the Washington presidential regime. Credited with organizing the United States' first financial system, Hamilton was a hero in the nation's fight for progress and equality. While his ambitions would never be free of controversy, leading to an untimely death brought on by a scandalous duel with the Vice President of the United States, Hamilton remains a courageous figure and founding father in the story of America's early history.

This portrait depicts Hamilton as slightly aged yet confident and poised, capturing the essence of his life-long spirit. Painted in profile, he appears deep in thought as a green curtain in the background reveals a tall standing column and faint scenery, perhaps suggestive of the budding civilization on his mind. Edward Savage, a well-known painter most recognized for his portraits of President Washington and family, a commission Hamilton was undoubtedly aware of at the time, is likely to have completed this work around 1801, the year Hamilton established the New York Evening Post and Savage was working and living in the New York region.