James Barton Longacre, 11 Aug 1794 - 1 - William Wirt - 1833 - T-Shirt

Write a Review
$19.99 - $26.99
Shipping:
Free Shipping
Adding to cart… The item has been added

Mix & Match Discount

  • Any 3 Items — 10% off
  • Any 5 Items — 20% off
  • Any 10 Items — 30% off
Mix & match anything sitewide — combine tees, hoodies, and more. Discount applies automatically at checkout.

James Barton Longacre, 11 Aug 1794 - 1 - William Wirt - 1833 - T-Shirt

This hatched ink-and-wash portrait shows statesman William Wirt from the shoulders up, set against a soft oval of tone that fades into cream paper.

Visual Elements & Composition

Cream paper dominates the design, with a dark grey-brown and near-black tone building the figure. Wirt wears a dark tailored coat over a high white cravat and ruffled shirt front, and his short, tightly curled hair frames a calm, measured face. The head sits inside an oval vignette of softly hatched shading, while the lower body dissolves into open sheet at the bottom edge. Nothing in the picture competes with the face: the edges are soft, the palette is restrained, and the eye settles on the figure's gaze, which lifts past the picture plane.

Meaning & Symbolism

The sitter, William Wirt (1772-1834), was a lawyer who served as United States Attorney General from 1817 to 1829 and later stood as the presidential candidate of the Anti-Masonic Party in 1832. The drawing follows the plain, dignified conventions of the period's public likenesses, where dress and expression signal character and standing rather than display. It was made by James Barton Longacre (1794-1869), an American engraver and draughtsman known for his portraits of national figures, most notably for the multi-volume National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans published in the 1830s. Longacre later became chief engraver of the United States Mint. The oval vignette reflects the practice of making portraits for print and public circulation in the early republic.

Wear the Gallery of Statesmen

A portrait built on a soft oval and a single upturned gaze suits the chest of a tee, where the face sits at eye level and the vignette frames the wearer's own shape. The design reads as a quiet, monochrome image rather than a bold graphic, so the cream ground and fine hatching carry the piece across the fabric.

Specifications

Product Details

Size Guide

Care Instructions