Jacques Reich, 10 Aug 1852 - 8 Jul 1923 - Schuyler Colfax - c. 1899-1920 - T-Shirt

A bust-length pen-and-ink portrait of Schuyler Colfax, drawn with fine hatching and set against a warm tan wash.

Visual Elements & Composition

The sheet is built around a single figure in a vertical frame. Cream paper dominates, with charcoal black ink carrying the face, beard and dark coat, and pale tan fading in beneath the lower body. The sitter's hair is swept up and back from a centre parting, and he is turned slightly toward the viewer. His full beard is worked in fine curling strokes that model the cheeks and chin, while careful hatching around the eyes and nose gives the face its depth. A dark bow tie sits above a pale shirt front. Loose curved lines behind the shoulders suggest the edge of the background. The artist's signature, Jacques Reich, sits on the lower left of the coat.

Meaning & Symbolism

Schuyler Colfax (1823 to 1885) was an Indiana newspaper editor and politician who served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and then as Vice President under Ulysses S. Grant from 1869 to 1873. His career spanned the Civil War and Reconstruction, and his work was rooted in the Republican Party's organisation. The portrait presents him as a public servant of those years, defined by parliamentary authority and party leadership rather than military command. Jacques Reich (1852 to 1923) was an illustrator and portraitist whose pen drawings of public figures belong to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century practice of supplying portraits for periodicals and print. The sheet, dated to roughly 1899 to 1920, shows his attention to the individual character of his sitter.

Made for the Wearer, Seen Up Close

A portrait like this rewards a close look. The face and beard carry the most detail, so the drawing reads best when the wearer is near enough for the hatching to show. The composition is compact and centred, with the figure filling the frame from shoulder to crown, which suits a chest-level print that stays in view as you move.