Alexander Hamilton - Item #207

  26 Inches High x 13 Inches Wide x 11 Inches Deep Several marble and plaster copies of this life-sized bust of Hamilton (1755/1757-1804) exist in museums today. Jefferson placed a copy at his home, Monticello, opposite a larger bust of himself, also by Giuseppe Ceracchi (1751-1801), and this juxtaposition confirmed the rivalry between the two. Many artists based later portraits of Hamilton on this bust, which is considered to be the best likeness of him. Here he is shown as a classical, heroic nude, save for the strap crossing his chest. The classical portraiture style was a popular choice for political figures in the 18th and 19th centuries as it reflected the antique portraits of the founders of Western democracy. In 1870, the bust was featured on the thirty-cent U.S. postage stamp. One of the Founding Fathers of America, Alexander Hamilton was born out of wedlock in the British West Indies in 1757. He came to America at the age of 16 to study, and shortly after entered Kings Colleg