William Henry Seward 16 May 1801 - 15 Oct 1872
Born Florida, New York
When William H. Seward lost the Republican nomination in 1860 to Abraham Lincoln, many people felt that it was a “sacrifice of commanding ability in favor of respectable mediocrity.” But Seward’s belief that the struggle between the slave and free states was “an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces” had made him some unforgiving enemies. In the end, Seward supported Lincoln actively and became his secretary of state. So closely was he associated with Lincoln’s policies that he was attacked on the night the president was assassinated, in an unsuccessful attempt to cripple the government.
Sara Carr Upton; bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art 1931; transferred to NPG 1965
Credit: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; bequest of Sara Carr Upton in memory of Olive Risley Seward, 1931