Mathew B. Brady
1850
Zachary Taylor

Lithograph, from an engraving, after a daguerreotype
21 3/4 x 15 1/2 in.
 
Archive Farms
The Patrick Montgomery Collection, Object No. 2019.739a
 
Published as the first issue of The Gallery of Illustrious Americans, Containing the Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Twenty-four of the Most Eminent Citizens of the American Republic, lithographed by Francis d' Avignon (French, 1813-1861, active America 1840-60) from a daguerreotype by Brady. Zachary Taylor first distinguished himself in the War of 1812, and by the end of the 1830s had become a brigadier general, thanks to his many frontier victories against the Indians. He was over sixty when his 5,400 troops prevailed over 20,000 Mexican soldiers at the Battle of Buena Vista, marking the turning point of the Mexican American War. By the time "Old Rough and Ready" returned home in November 1847, he was the most beloved hero in America. The following June, Taylor became the Whig nominee for President--a compromise candidate over perpetual favorites Henry Clay, Daniel Webster,and Winfield Scott, --and defeated Democrat James K. Polk. Though a southerner and a slaveholder, Taylor surprised many by supporting the Wilmot Proviso, which restricted the extension of slavery into the territories. But the nation never felt the true impact of his leadership; he died from food poisoning in July 1850. Brady photographed Taylor in Washington in 1849, around the time of his inauguration. The following year, this portrait became the basis for the first plate in his Gallery of Illustrious Americans, a series of twelve lithographic portraits of national leaders. Brady's ambitious plan was to issue these portraits semi-monthly for two years for $1 each, or $20 for the set of 24. For those who paid in advance, a portfolio was included in which to house the portraits. It is estimated that only about 50 portfolio sets were sold. Having paid Avignon $100 each to engrave the portraits, Brady needed to recover some of his costs. The first 12 completed portraits were bound into volumes from the remaining prints, although it is unknown how many of these bound volumes were produced.
 
LL/112676