Hamilton and Friends: Portraiture in Early New York
at The Museum of the City of New York
Thursday, February 11, at 6:30 pm
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd St.
Alexander Hamilton was a man of many faces: politician, economist, revolutionary — and rumored philanderer. After he was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804, Hamilton’s widow, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, worked tirelessly to defend her husband’s reputation. Today we are familiar with likenesses of Alexander Hamilton — including one that is on the ten dollar bill. This panel will explore how portraiture served in the decades after the American Revolution as a critical tool in shaping and canonizing the public image of leaders and notables. Join Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser, Curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, CUNY Graduate Center Professor William H. Gerdts, Bard Graduate Center Professor David Jaffee and more for a conversation about how the Hamiltons and other members of the colonial New York elite commissioned portraits to use both as status symbols and a means to craft their public image. This program delves into the themes of our exhibition Picturing Prestige: New York Portraits, 1700-1860.
This event is co-sponsored by the Barnard Urban Studies Department, the Columbia Art History & Archaeology Department, the Fordham University Art History Department, Hamilton Grange National Memorial – National Park Service, the New-York Historical Society, and Untapped Cities.
For more information, visit Hamilton and Friends
- William H. Gerdts, Professor Emeritus of Art History, CUNY Graduate Center
- David Jaffee, Professor and Head of New Media Research, Bard Graduate Center
- Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser, Alice Pratt Brown Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Brett Palfreyman, Assistant Professor, History Department, Wagner College
- Bruce Weber (moderator), Museum’s Curator of the exhibition Picturing Prestige: New York Portraits, 1700-1860
About the Museum of the City of New York
Founded in 1923 as a private, nonprofit corporation, the Museum of the City of New York celebrates and interprets the city, educating the public about its distinctive character, especially its heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation. The Museum connects the past, present, and future of New York City, and serves the people of the city as well as visitors from around the world through exhibitions, school and public programs, publications, and collections. Visit www.mcny.org to learn more.
